28 April 2023
ANDOVER, Kan. (KSNW) — Students and staff at Prairie Creek Elementary School in Andover are recalling the EF-3 tornado that tore through Butler and Sedgwick County nearly one year ago on April 29, 2022. In its path was Prairie Creek. This forced the district to pivot its final weeks of the school year.
Those who call Prairie Creek home still vividly remember the gut-wrenching feeling of seeing their building wrecked.
“Immediately, there was reports of it hitting the Y, and I’m like, ‘Oh if it hits the Y, that’s where we are,'” said Erica Hicks, a 5th-grade teacher at Prairie Creek.
Unsure of the severity of the tornado damage, all Hicks knew was that there would be no school on Monday.
“Kind of deceiving because, from the outside, it looked decent,” Hicks said. “Until you could actually see the footage of the water damage and the windows. So that’s when it really sunk in that we had a long road ahead.”
According to the district, there was $6 million worth of damage to Prairie Creek. Roof damage, flooding, shattered windows, and more forced students and staff to say an early goodbye to their building.
“I’ve been here since kindergarten. So I’ve made so many memories in here. And then to see it be like destroyed and stuff. It was just heartbreaking,” Prairie Creek 5th grader Ariana Kachelmeier said.
It’s been a long road. Crews worked tirelessly through the summer for students and staff to be able to start the year inside the building and even continued to work during the school year. The principal even says that they are still working through insurance claims.
“It’s definitely been some challenges this year coexisting with some construction and things to go back, but like the old cliche, ‘there’s no place like home,'” Hicks said.
Home with their students.
“Learning is happening,” Prairie Creek Elementary School Principal Shawn Springer said. “And we learned that we don’t have to have all our stuff to have good learning inside the school.”
Students proving their resilience.
“Even though hard times come, there’s always just going to be another way through it,” said Karsen Sams, a 5th grader at Prairie Creek.
“How the kids can always see the positive side of things is such a good lesson for us big people to keep in mind,” Hicks said.
Through it all, the community proved to be a silver lining—the tornado recovery built unbreakable bonds.
“The strength and resilience of our community. All the way, I mean now a year out, we still are, you know, receiving love and support from people in the community and wanting to make sure that, you know, we’re taking care of,” Hicks said.
As the year mark approaches, Prairie Creek staff says they are having many celebrations as the year mark approaches. Every time a student moves back into their home after repairs, they hold a celebration in class, and to celebrate the students’ resilience, the school will be hosting an “exploration day” on Friday.