Power outage brings two elementary schools together for a day

As students in the Stanwood- Camano School District prepared for another day of classes early last Monday morning, high winds caused power outages for portions of Camano Island.

Prior to the start of school, both Elger Bay and Utsalady elementaries were affected. Additionally, a downed tree in the driveway of Elger Bay was large enough to block traffic.

By 7:45 a.m., a team of district administrators had met with Public Utility District crews to assess the situation.

“We were told it would take at least three hours before the power was restored and the tree was removed,” said Superintendent Jean Shumate, Ed.D.

After discussing the situation with Elger Bay Principal Jon Evavold and Utsalady Principal Collen Keller, administrators decided to transport Elger Bay students and staff to Utsalady for the day.

Although the district has specific emergency plans for various situations, the nature of the event prompted a spur of the moment resolution.

Shumate said this was the first time students and staff from one school were rerouted to another school.

She credits the quick thinking and organization of both principals and their staff to prepare and develop a working schedule for the day.

“The staff did a fabulous job,” she said.

Despite starting the day without power at Utsalady (running water was available), Elger Bay students were divided by class and grade level and matched with corresponding classrooms.

Having worked with the Elger Bay staff, Principal Keller did a spectacular job matching teachers from both schools, said Evavold.

Electricity was restored shortly before 11 a.m.

In the face of “all kinds of potential disaster,” said Evavold, “everything ran amazingly smooth.”

The collaborative effort was further aided by members of Elger Bay’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA).

PTA volunteers started contacting parents, who were unaware of the impromptu field trip, to discuss transportation schedules and to simply let them know where their children were.

“Contacting the parents was a huge task,” said Evavold. “The PTA’s efforts helped parents remain calm.”

Evavold said the toughest task was coordinating the volume of buses with parent traffic for the end-of-the-day release.

To avoid congestion, parents picking up their Elger Bay students were asked to wait in the adjacent Camano Senior and Community Center parking lot as Utsalady students were released 15 minutes earlier than a standard school day.

Once the first wave of buses and parents cleared out, Elger Bay students were released.

While the day may have created some stressful situations, Evavold said the scenario provided great practice and a foundation for any potential situations in the future.

“Anything can happen,” he said. “It’s nice to know we have the ability to set up camp and carry on.”

And, it wasn’t a wasted day, he added.

He described the classrooms as a “fun collaboration” between the teams of teachers, para-educators and students.

Food service workers responded in stride by stepping up production and delivering lunches to each individual classroom.

“I’m so proud of our classified and certificated staff,” said Evavold. “The day really turned out nice.”

Staff Reporter Adam Stewart: 629-8066 ext. 115 or astewart@scnews.com.