Tropical Storm Harvey dominated the fall semester for Port Neches-Groves Independent School District with many students and staff affected in 2017.

But all was not lost. Good-hearted people from all over worked to help the schools hardest hit.

Brenda Duhon, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction/technology, said the Taft Elementary School community was especially hard hit.

“We saw how people from all over embraced that campus from shirts from the band Home Free to the CTE (Career and Technology Education) child-development classes providing treat bags for Taft students for Halloween,” Duhon said. “Several teachers were adopted by other schools in the U.S. and they have been sent items for their classrooms.”

Groves Elementary School was adopted by a school in New Mexico that did a fundraiser of selling pickles and they sent money to the school to buy things. Ridgewood Elementary first grade did a service project instead of a gift exchange this year and students there collected new books for classrooms that flooded at Lucian Adams Elementary School in Port Arthur.

The district’s middle schools excelled in sports and in the fine arts this year, even breaking some records.

“Port Neches Middle School had several students make all region band and choir, and the seventh-grade girls won the district championship in Volleyball.  PNMS was a shelter for victims of the storm and many students, parents and teachers served as volunteers to help the victims,” she said. “Groves Middle School choir students broke the school record of 35 by having 43 students selected to be in the All-Region Choir.  In fact, they placed more students in the choir than any other school in the region.”

The high school started out the year as the Class 5A Baseball state champions and followed that with district titles in both volleyball and football, she said.

During the Harvey break, Port Neches-Groves High School band students organized and helped in the community with hurricane relief.

The high school also celebrated the return of the Pow Wow high school newspaper, students excelling in UIL Congress, and successful band competition results.  Recently, D-Day veteran Tom Wilmore brought history to life with U.S. history students by sharing his wartime experiences.

Duhon said the district was honored that the Port Neches Chamber of Commerce partnered with PN-G High School and honors a Student of the Month. In addition, the high school wraps up the fall semester with an annual Christmas Food Drive for local Harvey victims.

“Our students are showing a tremendous amount of perseverance after Harvey,” she said. “We are very proud of the progress our students have made academically after missing two weeks of school and being displaced.”

The district saw a change in leadership with the hiring of Mike Gonzales as superintendent. Gonzales brings with him 22 years of elementary and secondary experience and previously served as assistant superintendent for administrative services at PNG.