ELKVIEW, WV (WOWK) – Elkview teenagers had a first day of school like none other on Friday. That’s because the new Herbert Hoover High School opened to all staff and students, following seven years of classes being taught from portable classrooms.
Yet, because of a “no excuses” attitude, students and staff still exceeded expectations during those years despite the odds against them.
“Just seeing it all come to fruition over time and the way everybody stayed together through it all, and the reward we get in the end, it’s an unbelievable feeling to be honest,” Assistant Principal Jason Cantrell said.
The old Herbert Hoover High School was wiped out in 2016 after historic floods affected thousands of lives and destroyed communities throughout West Virginia.
The aftermath of the floods forced students and staff to work out of portable classrooms over the last seven years, leaving students without lockers, hallways, athletic practice facilities, and more.
“I definitely think through all these years, being at the portables, we all had high hopes of it. So, sometimes it kind of pulls strings on your heart because you don’t know if it’s going to actually happen,” senior Kaili Casto said.
However, many said Friday’s first day of school was one to remember.
“When I got up this morning and it hit me that we were open in this new school today after seven years of being displaced, and we were going to see those kids walking in today. Just seeing it all come to fruition over time and the way everybody stayed together through it all, and the reward we get in the end, it’s an unbelievable feeling to be honest,” Cantrell said.
Many students said they took several life lessons from not having a permanent school building since 2016.
“I think the flooding was devastating, but I felt that it brought the community together. We’ve definitely gotten stronger the last seven years. Not having a school, the kids…we all have persevered through everything, it’s just shown us how strong we are,” senior Kole Johnson said.
Principal Mike Kelley said enrollment has gone up by 25 students since the floods hit in 2016. They now have around 790 students in the building.
The school also ranked in the top 15 high schools throughout West Virginia, based off of SAT scores, since the flooding hit. Herbert Hoover students repeatedly won band and show choir competitions since 2016, and school sports teams have excelled, in some cases going to the playoffs and state tournaments.
Kelley said he often stressed to students, “excuses are just a reason to fail. Wishing things were different is not productive.” He also said a lot of the behind the scenes work that allowed the school to still succeed over the last seven years was done because of Assistant Principals Jason Cantrell and Chandra Dalton.
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