Concerns about heading back to school

School district employees at districts in Creek County said the fires couldn't have happened at a worse time. As classes begin next week, many students in the Olive School District are displaced. The district is unsure of where they're staying. Instead of canceling classes the school board decided having kids go back to school would be better.

Take a ride through any school bus stop in Olive and you'll find mangled metal, singed trees and ashes sitting where homes used to stand.

It’s a small town, and recent wildfires took something from everyone.

"Some of the older people in our community have never seen anything like this," said Olive Schools Superintendent, Loren Tackett.

Tackett said classrooms will fill up with students next Wednesday.

"I don't know what we're going to tell them," said Tackett.

The school board decided postponing the first day of classes wouldn't do any good.

"Our thoughts, those kids probably need a place to be. They need meals, structure," said Tackett.

Tackett said a fraction of those kids are still missing. At last count, 33 were displaced.

“Up until Wednesday we'll still be looking for kids,” said Tackett.

Teachers have been making calls, and looking for students but many of them don't have electricity, let alone a home.

“It’s difficult to plan the day to day curriculum," said teacher, Diana Hood.

This is Hood's sixth year of teaching. She figures she'll let her art students help with lesson plans. If the want to express themselves through art she'll let them. And if they want to talk about what happened she'll allow that too.

“I'm sure our kids will have lots of stories,” said Tackett.

It’ll be a class reunion of sorts. One where the time spent apart will give every student who walks the halls something to talk about for years to come.

Fires did not damage the school in Olive.