Due to extraordinary efforts of staff and community volunteers, we are back in school this week, just four days after the severe flooding that pounded our community and schools.
On Friday and Sunday, more than 200 volunteers helped clean up debris from Snoqualmie Middle School, Snoqualmie Elementary School, and Mount Si High School campuses. Volunteers of all ages helped by raking, shoveling, hosing down sidewalks, sweeping, hauling garbage bags, picking leaves from fences, mucking out storage units, etc. Starbucks (near the North Bend Safeway gas station) supplied coffee and pastries, and Sahara Pizza in Snoqualmie donated pizzas, even while their own facility experienced flooding. We are grateful for and touched by this kind support.
Many staff worked tirelessly to ready our facilities and ensure a safe learning environment. In particular, our operations teams, transportation staff, and technology support worked throughout the weekend to prepare our schools and bus routes for Monday morning. Crews literally worked around the clock.
While the entire community has felt the impact of the flood, our thoughts are especially with those staff, students, and families who were directly impacted by the flooding. We will face some inconveniences in the coming weeks, especially at Mount Si High School, where construction continues. But this pales in comparison to the inconvenience and challenges associated with losing possessions or even one’s home.
Our schools are not only institutions of learning. They are the center of the community: a place where parents and community patrons can convene and work shoulder to shoulder to put things “back together;” a place where kids can find predictable routine, safety, security, and adults who care about them; a place where staff can return to reunite with fellow staff members and the students who depend upon them.
I’ve observed many in our community reach out to help those in need or in trouble, and it has truly been inspiring. Our community is a special place, filled with people who truly care.
Joel Aune
Superintendent, Snoqualmie Valley School District
