Mendenhall River Community School Principal Eric Filardi welcomed students and families over the loudspeaker Friday morning. Students filed in with their families and made their way to class.
“Good morning Mendenhall River and happy first day of school on a Friday,” he said.
But there was a small difference. The school year began a day later this year following a record-breaking glacial lake outburst flood. This was one of three schools in the flood zone. But none of the buildings flooded, and Filardi said it was a relatively normal first day of school.
“We are looking at full staffing, and we have a school that’s standing after the recent flooding. We’re starting on Pizza Friday, and it’s smiles all the way around,” he said.
The district said in an email the only damage that occurred was some fencing near Back Loop Bridge, which remained closed Friday due to damage from the flood.
Students were excited for school, including third grader Vaughn Ward. He said he’s looking forward to making new friends. Vaughn also said he didn’t mind getting an extra day off to chill.
“I rode my bike a bunch too,” he said.
Vaughn’s mother Kelsey Ward said their home on Emily Way flooded during last year’s outburst, but things changed a lot this time around thanks to the new flood barrier.
“We were displaced from our home for, what, almost seven months, and this year we stayed dry,” she said. “So it’s a different first year for us for school, or first day for our kids and for us. So that’s that’s good.”
Ward said she’s worried about her son’s class size. She hopes to be able to volunteer to support his teachers throughout the year.
On the other side of Juneau, hundreds of students stepped out of cars and buses as they made their way into Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. There, office staff handed out class schedules printed on bright pink paper.
Ninth graders typically start school a day early to familiarize themselves with the campus, but that was canceled this year because of the flood.
Principal Paula Casperson said they’re working to support the freshman who lost a day to get used to the new space.
“It’s a big transition for our ninth grade students, so we’re trying to be out, visible, helping direct traffic, calming kids when they’re feeling a little anxious about not knowing where to go,” Casperson said. “Transitions are important and they can be real hard.”
She says any students missing school because of the flood coordinated with the attendance office
“If kids are helping families for this first day, we’ll get them here on Monday, hopefully,” she said.
Not all students started in Juneau today. The district’s kindergarteners’ first day is scheduled for this Tuesday.
