Amidst the chaos of a recent bomb cyclone, the number one announcement that all students were waiting for was if school was canceled. To keep students safe the district closed school from Wednesday, November 20 to Friday, November 22, and sent students home early on Monday, November 25 due to problems with heating. Many club meetings and various activities were suspended. On the other side of this situation is a school administration, who were scrambling to make decisions based off of district announcements.

There is a crucial factor that led administration efforts to minimize the impact of the storm on the student body. Principal Connolly sheds light on the challenges of communication among staff due to the widespread power outage and decisions made on sports and activities that were heavily impacted, “Everybody was doing everything they could to get the school open, and as things come up that you aren’t anticipating like the heat not working right, you just deal with those things in the moment through a lot of communication with a lot of people.”

Connolly clarifies that decisions such as early dismissal and closing school are up to the Issaquah School District, who sent people to assess the damage every day of the storm. Her job is to take the information from the district and provide support to teachers and staff to make sure that school can run as smoothly as possible when students return. That included, but was not limited to, coming up with an attendance plan that did not require Wi-Fi, and preparing forms so teachers could communicate if they were going to be out and would need a substitute when school reopened. When the district announced early dismissal due to heating problems, she coordinated with bus drivers to ensure transportation to students who needed it. She also worked with coaches of sports teams to move practices to other schools in the district so that the storm did not leave students unprepared for their competitions. “It was a collaboration between several different parties, from the district to seeking input from teachers and building principals” she said.

Mr. Baynes, a. ASB teacher at Issaquah High School, explained his experience amidst the challenges the school faced and administration responses. Baynes complimented the administration on their communication with teachers and parents, and when closures were decided. He admired how the administration took “staff input on various things, all which I think is appreciated by all staff,” making sure that everyone was informed and supported. Despite the chaos of the situation, Mr. Baynes felt that the administration handled the crisis well, balancing the need for a response and the logistics of giving students the time they need to learn. Overall, “it pushes everything out, you know, then a couple of weeks. So right now, we’re kind of getting back on track with things that had been planned for November to December.”

Many students lost both power and the internet at home, making it a challenging time. However, many students seemed pleased with how the IHS administration handled the emergency. Natalie Halatchev, a sophomore student at IHS, says that the school administration “was extremely flexible and did their best to update families on the situation.” However, student-teacher communication was more difficult. Halatchev says that “when it came to individual classes, I didn’t know what work I’d have to make up and cram later on.” Many teachers chose to push work and curriculum back, while others added extra homework.

Regarding the district’s handling of the power emergency, Halatchev says that she “especially liked how they posted places that gave out free internet or places to charge laptops.” Cougar Mountain Middle School was opened for free electricity and charging access. By adding this extra service, the Issaquah School District showed support to students and staff.

Trees falling and power outages never seemed to be that big of a threat in the Pacific Northwest, however the communities that got hit heavily will see a lasting impact. Every student knows the feeling of being behind, but now in many schools the teachers, administrators, all other staff, and the students are feeling the stress of catching up on the missed week of school. Efforts of transparent and inclusive communication from the Issaquah district and IHS administration team have truly brought the community together amidst all the chaos. Principal Connolly adds, “What I love about this community is people really do come together and look out for each other.”