McKenzie School District

There was damage to some buildings including the storage building, concessions building and the stadium, but the central buildings were all saved.

During the Holiday Farm Fire, more than 400 homes were lost. Temporary housing situations exist and houses are being built all the time, but many families still do not have secure housing situations. Many others have been displaced to neighboring towns, including Eugene and Springfield, and have not yet had the opportunity to return.

Adjusting to 'reading the room'

McKenzie School District had about 225 students before the fire. Tompkins said that at their lowest, they had about 165, but they'll be starting out this school year with 175.

He didn't have an estimate for how many students still have uncertain housing situations, but it is still a significant portion. Because of varying factors, supply shortages, insurance challenges, affordability, and more, there is still a lack of housing available in Blue River and surrounding communities.

"We're still in that position supporting students, they might be in trailers waiting for their homes to be rebuilt or living with family members," Tompkins said. "Even staff members, they're in different phases to find any sort of groups or housing or they're living in a trailer, waiting for their rebuilds to kick off. There's still a lot of people in different phases of recovery, and a lot of kids and families are in recovery."

Patchwork recovery:McKenzie wildfire survivors, those that stayed, are slowly overcoming exhausting obstacles

Identifying where students are living has been a learning process, Culp said. Making sure teachers know the challenges student face is important, he said, and to never assume a student's home situation.

Culp has become more cautious of how he approaches students and how he says things and encourages his students to do the same.

"I always thought I was very understanding, wise and stuff, but this is on a whole other level," Culp said about recovering from the fire. "Just remembering, they're kids, they're humans, and … there's all this stuff going on at home as well."

Culp recalled one student who was still living in a hotel with his family last year. The student was always bubbly and talkative in class, he said, but he saw a different side when he approached the student in the parking lot outside of school.

"I just wanted to go say hi to them; they hadn't been in school a couple of weeks," Culp said. "When I walked up to that window, I thought I was gonna get that like, 'Hey, oh, my gosh,' but it was like, 'Dude, get out of here, just leave me alone.' "

The exchange helped Culp realize that with students going through so many changes and challenges, as the adult, he had to read the room and recognize when students need to talk and when they need space. Some students feel shame about their living situations, whether it be at a hotel or in a trailer.

"That taught me a good lesson," Culp said. "I don't think it damaged any relationships. I mean, I know deep down, they still appreciate it. That was not the time and place probably to go out there and say hi."

The district has also had some wins over the past two years, notably building strong bonds with the neighboring school districts including Phoenix-Talent School District and Santiam Canyon School District.

It's easy to think you're just experiencing this on your own, Tompkins said. "That's the biggest value, having been able to connect with those districts. They're all dealing with the same stuff."

Keeping momentum in the new year

Neil Barret, assistant principal of McKenzie Middle High School and football coach, was working in Portland at the time of the fires. Having worked for the district previously, he decided to move back to Blue River and take over as assistant principal to help aid in the recovery and reconnection efforts.

Since he returned, he has helped organize parent nights and other ways to bring staff and parents together. However, those relationships have changed drastically.

"There was more community hubs where you might run into people, like there's the store on Blue River that burned," Barrett said. "That was a place where you'd go on your break, you go get a snack, and you'd see the parents or the store owners. Just those little opportunities just to run into people and spend two minutes catching up. You lost those random interactions."

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