Jessie Smeall stands among the dozens of boxes of supplies donated for schools in Jasper, Alta. that she has been storing in her garage in Hinton, Alta. on Sept. 2.Karen Palashniuk/The Globe and Mail
In recent weeks, Jessie Smeall’s garage in Hinton, Alta., has been filling up with dozens of boxes that she described as “happily packed.”
The boxes are brimming with pencils and markers, lined paper and calculators, Kleenex and wipes. They are supplies that will make the hour-long trek to classrooms in Jasper, where summer wildfires destroyed a third of the structures in the picturesque Rocky Mountain town with a year-round population of roughly 5,000.
“This organized chaos that is my garage makes me happy because the community that we live in and beyond is coming together to support our teachers in a time of great unknown,” said Ms. Smeall, a music teacher and the Alberta Teachers’ Association local president for the area that includes Jasper.
Schools in Jasper are scheduled to reopen in two weeks, as officials work to clean the buildings. Before the fires, roughly 475 students attended the elementary and junior-senior high schools (there’s also a French-language school in town).
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It’s not clear how many students will return; the numbers change daily. It is expected that school officials and educators will need to build up their classrooms after a significant restoration to remediate the ash and char that entered the buildings over the summer.
Last month, Ms. Smeall was approached by a teacher from Jasper who asked if the local union could organize a supply drive so staff and students wouldn’t have to worry about purchasing or finding items for their classrooms.
She didn’t hesitate to act. Within days, she contacted administrators at the Jasper schools, received a spreadsheet outlining top items from teachers, and built an Amazon wish list. She spoke with teachers who had experienced a similar situation in recent years – in places such as Fort McMurray – and added to the list based on their recommendations.
The local teachers’ union president created an online wish list on Amazon for school supplies to support teachers and students who will be returning to their schools in Jasper.Karen Palashniuk/The Globe and Mail
She promoted the wish list through social-media channels and news media, with donations pouring in from people in Alberta and across the country – and even as far as the southern United States.
“Whatever people are able to help out with, we are welcoming with open arms,” she told The Globe and Mail.
Ms. Smeall said a third of the boxes have so far been delivered to Jasper and are being stored in a teacher’s garage. There are still about 100 more boxes in her own garage that she plans to drive over before schools reopen. And the donations keep coming.
Contributors of school supplies were able to leave notes with their Amazon orders of donations.Karen Palashniuk/The Globe and Mail
Carolyn Lewis, superintendent for the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division, which includes Jasper schools, described Ms. Smeall’s efforts as “exemplary.” A team from Fort McMurray has also started a wish list for Jasper teachers, she added.
“We have been overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness and support during this challenging time. Their generosity has made a significant difference, and we are truly grateful,” Ms. Lewis said.
The wildfires resulted in significant smoke damage to the school buildings even if the structures remained. Over the past four weeks, more than 200 restoration staff have washed the schools, replaced ceiling tiles and cleaned air ducts and the air, Ms. Lewis said.
Some families who were displaced by the wildfires have temporarily enrolled their children in schools in Hinton, Edmonton and elsewhere in the province, unsure when they can return to their town.
Ms. Smeall said more than a dozen school staff who live and work in Jasper lost their homes. The province said it was working with the municipality to secure interim accommodations for affected teachers and school staff.
In the meantime, Ms. Smeall wanted to ease the burden on those who returned to their classrooms later this month by making sure they had the essentials.
“Teachers want to create the most successful learning environments for their students, and knowing that some of my colleagues, as well as some of our families, have been displaced until the near future, we wanted to take that stress off of them,” she said.