Mitchell County Schools

On National Law Enforcement Day, we want to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to our amazing School Resource Officers! 🚔💙 Your dedication, protection, and care make our schools safer and stronger every day. We are grateful for all you do for our students, staff, and community. 👏👏

Mitchell County Schools will be closed today, Thursday,January 9. More snow fell overnight in our county and there are also areas of black ice with the refreeze. This will be classified as a remote day for students. MCS understands with all the days we missed due to Helene we need to be back face to face instruction. However we cannot put our students and especially our student drivers at risk. MCS has made adjustments to the calendar and have added more student days after the Helene disaster. We are also asking the Department of Public Instruction for funding for extended learning for parents who wish for their child attend this summer. We do understand this puts hardship on parents and childcare is hard to find. We are also looking for grant funding to provide childcare on snow days.

Buses will not run these roads tomorrow, January 9. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HdYyuQiCy_jh7x_j59UKWit-Pr72ZtZCLlCRleuDPOE/edit

Mitchell County Schools will be on a 2 hour delay tomorrow, Thursday, January 9.

The substitute teacher training that was scheduled for today has been postponed. A new date will be announced soon.

Mitchell County Schools will be closed today, Wednesday, January 8th. This will be a remote day for students. We have had some unexpected additional snowfall this morning that is expected to continue through noon.

Buses will not run these roads tomorrow, Wednesday, January 8th. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HdYyuQiCy_jh7x_j59UKWit-Pr72ZtZCLlCRleuDPOE/edit?usp=sharing

Mitchell County Schools will be on a 3 hour delay tomorrow, Wednesday January 8th. Buses will run clear roads only. The roads we are aware we cannot run will be posted on social media and our web page later tonight. All gravel roads are still slick and buses cannot run these roads. Parents, please call your child’s school if a bus cannot run your road. The principal and teachers will work with students on school work makeup. Staff need to report before 8:20 am and all schools will open for drop off at 8:30.

Mitchell County Schools will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, January 7th. This will be a Remote Instruction Day for students. Staff, please check your email for instructions for tomorrow.

Mitchell County Schools will be closed for students tomorrow, Monday, January 6. It will be a Schedule 2 Staff Workday. There will be no remote learning for students. We are currently under a Winter Weather Advisory as winter weather is predicted overnight and tomorrow.

Mitchell County Schools will be closed for students today, Friday, January 3. It will be a staff workday and there will be no remote learning for students. Mitchell County and our region have been placed under a Winter Weather Advisory with snow predicted to begin around 10am and wind gusts as high as 50mph.

We are looking forward to 2025!

Hurricane Helene: This Is Our Story Submission by Shana Cook, Technology Director for MCS I had a bad feeling about this storm on Wednesday, September 25th. We had gotten a few warnings at the Central Office about how this storm was hitting our area unlike anything we had ever seen. I had a tingly feeling in the back of my mind that kept saying, “Shana, you just might be pulling out all your prepping equipment for this one.” But no one, nothing, could ever have prepared for the devastation Helene would truly bring on us. I woke up on Friday morning to the rain and wind hitting my front windows. The power was off and I was glad I had filled the bathtubs with water. We spent the next few hours listening to an old radio scanner. Hearing all the commotion going on, it was evident there was going to be a lot of damage. A passage in the Bible (Job 38) came to mind and I read it to Ryan and Piper while we watched the rain coming down sideways. At that point, I tried to let go of any anxiety I had in my mind and let God have it. If Job had to humble himself before God at these questions, I sure had to too! After the sky started to clear, Kasey came up to the house and told us that trees were down everywhere in the road and he couldn’t get to work. We put on our work clothes and got our chainsaws and started down the driveway. You couldn’t travel through Red Hill in either direction 100 yards without a tree across the road. Thankfully all our neighbors and the workers from Unimin had the same idea. We were going to have to cut out ourselves. I drove our side by side to the top of the hill at Kat Byrd’s. When I saw the woods by her house, I first thought, “Well, that’s a strange way to log!” But then I realized that those trees were not logged, they were all snapped off and laying in the road from the wind that had just gone through. That’s the moment when it all started to hit me. The flooding I heard going on in Bakersville. The winds that downed trees everywhere! No power. No cell service. What in the world had just attacked Mitchell County? We worked all evening to clear the trees and thank God, each community did the same. I wanted to check on my mom and dad and the rest of my family in Snow Hill. So we hopped in the old trusty Jeep and made it all the way. I will never forget seeing the train tracks in the river for the first time or the canopy of trees that we had to inch through to get there, or my sister’s and mom’s faces when I drove up to their houses. My family was all ok. When we got back home, I told Ryan and Piper that we would have goals everyday. They really got sick of hearing that lol. Our next goal was to get Piper’s boyfriend, Jaxon Rohr, home safely in Poplar from Spruce Pine. The next day, we set out in the Jeep and headed to Spruce Pine. Again, the devastation was overwhelming. Jaxon had been at a friend’s house but had to move out because of trees and wind. I knew his mom and dad were worried about him, not knowing where he was and not being able to call him, and that’s all I could think about. We were able to track him down through the SPPD. We found him at the golf course and, after driving around Spruce Pine and trying to process all of the damage, we took him to Red Hill. Piper and I painted a zombie-apocalyptic sign letting Amberly know he was at our house in case she went out looking for him. Goal for the day achieved. The next day (Sunday) our goal was to get Jaxon home to Sam’s Branch. I had heard the road near the river was gone so before we set out, I said a prayer asking God to let there be a railroad left. If not, we were prepared to walk through the woods. We were going to get there somehow, some way. We drove the jeep all the way to the train trestle at Relief and started walking. The railroad was intact all the way to the road turning to Poplar, the road beside it was completely gone with just a few feet of pavement left here and there. We walked two and a half miles and thanks to a sweet neighbor who drove us the rest of the way to Jaxon’s, we made it. I will never forget Jaxon’s mom and dad’s face when we got there. The joy in seeing each other after all the worry and no communication. It still brings tears to my eyes and I’m thankful for moments like those. The days after were filled with checking on our kids and families in the schools, making sure communities like Bailey Settlement and Poplar had supplies, setting up Starlinks, meeting wonderful volunteers and just trying to be a helping hand. I never knew what I would be getting into each day. I knew God would lead me to the place I needed to go…I just needed to show up each morning. I want to remember that for the rest of my life. We don’t know what the future holds, but we’ve all got to remember to just show up for each other and we will always be #MitchellStrong.

Merry Christmas from Mitchell County Schools! We wish you a happy holiday season and will see you January 2, 2025! Our card design winners this year are: Lincy- Greenlee Primary; Ella- Mitchell Middle; Sadie- Mitchell High; Salvador- Mitchell High

Mitchell County Schools will dismiss one-hour early today, Friday, December 20. We have been monitoring the weather throughout the day and anticipate snow arriving by 4:00pm this afternoon. We want to make sure all students are home safely. We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday and look forward to seeing students again on January 2.

Mayland Early College students enjoyed a festive Christmas lunch before starting their final exams next week.

Mitchell High & Mitchell Middle Band Christmas Concert December 19th @ 6:00 pm at the Mitchell High Auditorium

This afternoon, Friday, December 13, a student on one of our middle/high school buses made a statement about a weapon. The incident has been thoroughly investigated and there was no weapon on the bus and no intent to harm a student(s). If you have any additional questions, please contact your child's principal.

Hurricane Helene: This Is Our Story Submission by Ashley Davis, Exceptional Children's Teacher After decades working in a neighboring county, my family and I moved to Mitchell last school year. While I was reluctant to uproot and relocate my family, God has and continues to make it abundantly clear His plan for us exceeds anything we could have imagined. I was blessed to have witnessed the homecoming festivities on the evening of Wednesday, September 25th, including our amazing and resilient band. Although I left immediately afterward (our “new” home had flooded a month prior, so when the heavy rain began, I knew we needed to get back to continue the preventative measures started that morning), there were so many that stayed. While the rainwater began filling in our basement (our bedroom!), I saw that so many others rushed to help mitigate the waters coming into the school gym that I had left only moments prior. We were blessed to have been home this night, in time to see exactly where the leaks in the basement were originating, along with access to open stores to purchase a LOT of sealer! (Ask my husband about me also buying Duct Tape. Haha!) Everyone in the county and farther out has their own story about the storm, and the damage it produced…physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. The news was (and is) full of the devastation Helene produced, so I won’t share any more of that here. Fast forward to early Saturday morning. As neighbors began tree and debris removal to cut a path on the roads, we were being drawn to head to the high school. With no communication, power, or water, we started toward the only normalcy and consistency in our lives the past few years…school! As we caught up with our school resource officer and a few familiar faces, supplies from the community immediately came pouring in. While my husband left with a group of men to get donated supplies from Ingles, people from local restaurants and stores began showing up continuously. The cafeteria became the new community warehouse, while the gym became the new community housing. Each day, when we would wake up, the kids would immediately jump up ready to go back to see the people at the shelter and be at a community location that would allow them to be in contact with people. The days are honestly a blur, but here are a few things I will never forget: - As much as people individually lost, everyone in the community made it a priority to check on others and share their resources. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t bathed or were in the same clothing everyday…people kept showing up with helpful hearts and hands. When we had no communication, Dan Hopson and a group of STEM kids collected materials to make their own radio, which allowed access outside to emergency personnel. These students manned the radio, allowing for road and support updates that they could pass along to the community. The hands-on learning that happens in MCS is invaluable in the real world! - Everyone waited patiently for the National Guard to arrive. At first, the drops were people who needed additional care or people who needed a location with power due to oxygen tanks, as the hospital was full. This was a challenge, but everyone jumped in to change wound dressings or take elderly residents to the bathroom. It was all hands on deck. When the National Guard did arrive with supplies, we all cried as we unloaded. We knew at that moment, we would be okay and that the rest of the world did not forget about our town. I will never take for granted the safety of my family, communication with others, or the normalcy of the school day, traveling outside of my home, access to supplies, or fresh drinking water. - Showing up to “work” on a Saturday after a natural disaster would not have been a calling in my previous role, not only for me, but my kids as well. I LOVE my job, my co-workers, administrators, students, their parents, and the community. My kids love their teachers and peers. Although there is much recognition about volunteering, the truth is that through this, my own family was warm, fed, had plenty of water, and were able to see or communicate with people they love. The support of the community was felt and so appreciated by our family, in ways that we will never be able to return. - I met people who I never would have otherwise. We met a wonderful lady, who we were able to visit in the shelter, then at the hospital prior to her moving. She prayed with my son every night before bed and my kids and I grew to love her like our own family. (Miss Buchanan…I still owe you! I promised to come get you to see the band perform!) - God had a plan for this. He knew we needed the old school buildings. He knew we needed the gym at the high school. He knew we needed our community, then resources from far and wide. Although we saw the worst in nature, we saw the best in Mitchell County, and beyond. From my family, my home, my school, my soul…”Thank You”!

Mitchell County Schools will be back to a 1 hour delay schedule tomorrow, December 12th. There is a chance of more light snow showers tonight. We will check again in morning and if a further delay or change in schedule is needed, a decision will be made before 6am.