The Key Peninsula community experienced disruptions in education last week due to attempted copper thefts causing internet outages at four local schools. Peninsula School District’s central office was the target of vandals who damaged communication lines in their search for copper wire, although the lines did not actually contain any copper.
The outages on May 21 affected Key Peninsula Middle School, and Evergreen, Vaughn, and Minter Creek elementary schools. The district’s internet service provider was able to repair the damage on both days, but three of the schools were hit again on Friday, May 24.
The outages impacted both internet access and phone service, which operates on voice over internet protocol (VoIP). School administrators were able to maintain communication using cell phones and radios, ensuring they could reach each other and families if necessary.
Teachers had to get creative with lesson plans during the outages, resorting to old-school methods of instruction. Despite the challenges, district spokeswoman Danielle Chastaine expressed gratitude for the quick thinking and flexibility of the school staff in providing meaningful learning experiences for students.
While intercom systems were down during the outages, some staff members equipped with walkie talkies managed communication within the school buildings. The community rallied together to overcome the setbacks caused by the attempted thefts, demonstrating resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges.
