Their hearts stayed shining brightly, even on some of the darkest days. Now, the teachers and staff of Emma Elementary are in the spotlight, featured on WLOS-TV as “WNC Heroes.”
The Asheville TV station has spent much of the last year profiling people who helped families recover from the shock and devastation of Hurricane Helene. The Emma staff reconnected after the storm, collected supplies for families, and then dispatched into the community to deliver them.
“We went to every home of every student,” said principal Carla Shipman. “We broke up into teams, and we were able to visit all of our students and deliver packages to them.”
“They were so excited to see us,” shared teacher Tonya DeWeese. “Kids were running and hugging us, and there were some tears.”
Looking back on those emotional days now, school staffers are proud of their efforts to stay connected with their kids.
“I definitely think we lived up to our theme last year of ‘together we rise’ as Buncombe County Schools,” DeWeese added. “We definitely rose together to recover.”
You can watch the WLOS story below.