Goshen students prove to be Warriors on first day of school
From a young age, Goshen kids are taught to be Warriors. For some, seeing them back in the classroom Thursday proves how resilient they are.
"It was actually fun to watch them get on the bus this morning," said parent Ryan Dean. "When my daughter saw it, she lit up like a Christmas tree."
For the first time in six weeks, since an EF2 tornado devastated the area, they had something other than storm damage and clean-up to focus on.
The first day back to school was about reuniting with friends, classmates and teachers.
The day felt even more special because just last month after the tornado damaged the elementary school – blowing out windows and tearing apart classrooms – district leaders didn't know if they'd open on time.
"First question we asked was, 'Can we be open on August 18, because our goal was to be open on August 18," said superintendent Darrell Edwards.
Through the hard work of staff, contractors, and community volunteers, there they were, learning. smiling and even sharing meals together.
"Obviously, everybody is still a little scared of the storms. Every time it's thundering, they're like 'Tornado's coming' but other than that, everything's slowly getting back to normal," Dean said.
For families who still haven't been able to return to their homes and may be temporarily living elsewhere, "We made arrangements with those families to make sure those kids get to school no matter where they're living or where they're located," Edwards said.
After all, it takes a community to get through difficult times and neighbors to remind one another they're all Warriors and Goshen strong.
"We're just proud to be back in school. Day one and our teachers are ready to go to teach these kids," Edwards said.
People can support families impacted by the tornado by giving to the Tornado Relief Fund:
gosheneducationfoundation.org/donation