Greenville, Spartanburg D7 report no major issues with return to school following Helene

Upstate schools reported no problems with students returning to school on Tuesday and Wednesday following Hurricane Helene.

While other Spartanburg County students returned to regular schedules Wednesday, schools in Spartanburg County School District Four were closed Wednesday due to an issue discovered Tuesday.

The announcement explained that after returning to Woodruff High School on Tuesday, staff discovered a substance they believed to potentially be mildew or mold in several areas. Because of this discovery, air quality testing for all schools has been scheduled.

Mildew, mold issues: Spartanburg School District 4 schools remain closed Wednesday due to mildew, mold issues

Greenville County Schools return went smoothly

Greenville County Schools Director of Media Relations Tim Waller said the return to school Wednesday went smoothly.

“A number of us in my department kind of fanned out to different schools to take some photographs of kids returning, and I saw lots of high fives, fist bumps and plenty of comments from students, especially our older students, of how glad they were to be back in school with full power, full internet, all that good stuff,” Waller said.

The bus route changes, including changed bus stops, were also successful, he said.

“The kids were picked up where they were supposed to this morning,” Waller said. “All of the students who were affected by modified bus routes received a call starting yesterday afternoon and before nine o'clock last night from the bus drivers themselves, so nobody was surprised.”

Power was restored to Greenville Middle Academy around 1:45 Wednesday morning, Waller said, so all schools were able to reopen Wednesday.

Greenville County back to school: What to know on calendar, bus routes, academic extensions

Spartanburg District 7 students greeted with 'open arms'

Spartanburg County School District 7 welcomed students back to school on Tuesday.

“While some continue to face power outages, unreliable internet, and even displacement from their homes, they were greeted with uplifting music, encouraging hand-made signs, and open arms,” Spartanburg County School District 7 Superintendent Jeff Stevens said. “Our teachers recognize it is everyone’s well-being rather than academics that is most important right now, so our focus on the first day back was checking in with students to understand how they are doing, any continuing challenges they face in the aftermath of Helene, and how we can best support them as we resume learning.”

Stevens said that districtwide they saw an approximately 10% increase in their typical absence rate on Tuesday, when the district ran on a two-hour delay, but that most of those students returned Wednesday.

“Thankfully, only six stops on District 7’s bus routes needed to be adjusted due to inaccessible roads, and that number decreased to two stops Wednesday,” Stevens said. “District 7 is extremely grateful to all the emergency workers who have come to Spartanburg to help restore our community after the storm and to our community for coming together with a display of resilience, compassion, and support of one another.”

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville, Spartanburg D7 report no major issues with return to school following Helene