Students in Oxford returned to school on Thursday, a week later than planned.
Last month’s historic flooding left 12 roads in town impassable, washed away six bridges and damaged several homes and businesses.
“The roads were not deemed safe for our buses, and if the buses can't drive on the roads, we can’t open schools because we're legally obligated to provide transportation to kids,” said Dr. Robert Miller, the school superintendent.
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So in the meantime, the district came up with a plan to have community bus stops. The superintendent drove around for three hours and scouted locations that would be convenient and safe for families.
“Typically a bus would take about 45 minutes to go through its normal route. With a number of roads closed, you're doing 45 minutes plus, in some cases, 20 or 25 minutes to come back around with the detours, which makes that too long with driving time. So, we're trying to get the students into community stops, and from there have a direct shot to the school to minimize student time on the buses,” said Dr. Miller.
The district also plans to send a staff member with each bus in the afternoon to make sure each student is checked out to the correct adult.
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In addition to the logistical challenges, the school staff just went through additional training on how to support students socially and emotionally who recently went through the trauma of the flooding firsthand.
“What are the warning signs that we need to watch for, and how do you support those students and adults that they're experiencing that? And if you're experiencing a trauma, you can't learn. So, we need to make sure that from a social-emotional perspective, the students are supported and we have the right tools to help them reengage and get through that difficult time if that's happening,” said Dr. Miller.
Students and staff will make up the first five days of school at the end of the year in June.
