Tens of thousands of children across the Southeast remain out of their classrooms one week after Helene, the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland United States since Katrina. They are cut off from academics, friends and stabilizing routines.

Hurricane Helene ravaged school buildings, demolished football fields and killed young children and their educators. Dozens of schools are closed for the foreseeable future.

Even when they reopen, students in the hardest hit regions, like western North Carolina, could face long-lasting academic and emotional setbacks, according to youth development experts.

In North Carolina, where more than 20 public school districts and several charter schools “face significant damage and interruptions,” according to Eric C. Davis, the chair of the state board of education, students and their families are facing “tremendous trauma and hardships.”

Helene’s toll is extreme — more than 230 people have died — but such tragedies are increasingly on repeat.

As the climate changes and storms grow bigger and more frequent, they are disrupting the rhythm of school districts and threatening children’s academics, physical health and mental well-being.

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