Blackouts across Kansas have occurred these past couple days ever since Monday and may even continue to occur. They have caused many students and teachers to fear that they might lose power and disrupt class. 

 Due to the shut-off of energy (to conserve energy) in most places in Kansas, many schools closed on Tuesday, but it didn’t mean a snow day for the district of USD 259. Instead the district decided for students to attend school online. There have been issues such as nothing loading, calls being dropped, chats not working on Teams, and even power going out for around 40 minutes.

Many teachers and students were and still are fearful of what their day would look like if any of this did happen and how to handle the situation if it did. Susan Holbrook, who teaches journalism and photography and is in charge of the yearbook and Northwest news page, explained what it was like for her and other teachers preparing for blackout if it did happen. 

 “My department chair and I were texting back and forth, this morning {Tuesday} after we found out there was a possibility we would lose power,” Holbrook said. “We were trying to come up with other activities for students to do in case things went bad.” 

Although teachers and students have had network and technology issues, it would have been even worse if the teachers and in-person students were expected to be in school, not only because of the snowy weather, but even about potentially facing a blackout in an already freezing school rooms. 

“Nobody really wants to get out in this, and it’s just not fun for anybody,” senior Cayden White said. 

 Even though many problems occurred throughout these couple of days, many students figured out ways to overcome those problems and still be able to learn without having to worry about interruptions from technology stopping them.  

“We have a group chat for this class, so if I need help I can ask other students in the class as well,” sophomore Skylar Isenegger said.