NAVIGATING CRISIS AND BUILDING UNITY IN THE FACE OF TRAGEDY

It started with one of those phone calls you never want to receive.

On Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, the Andrews High School football team was scheduled to play Springtown in the second round of playoffs. All campuses were let out early so fans could travel to Sweetwater to cheer on the Mustangs.

Around 4:30 p.m. that day, I started to receive phone call after phone call. I didn’t recognize the numbers, so I sent them all to voicemail. The phone numbers were Midland/Odessa TV reporters trying to get answers about an accident involving an Andrews ISD bus.

Three bus loads of band students were on their way to cheer on the Mustangs. Bus no. 1 and no. 2 were struck head-on on I-20 in Big Spring, Texas, just one hour east of Andrews. Several students were airlifted to the University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, while others were transported to the local hospital in Big Spring. Unfortunately, we lost long-time bus driver and former school employee Marc Boswell and Band Director Darin Johns in the accident.

My phone continued to blow up with phone calls from the media trying to ask questions. I had NO IDEA what they were talking about. I told them I would call them back as soon as I could get some answers. I tried to get in touch with my superintendent. He didn’t answer. I tried calling our deputy superintendent. He didn’t answer.

Little did I know, our superintendent and deputy superintendent had been just a few minutes behind the band buses and arrived on scene before any law enforcement. They began pulling students out of the buses and moving them to safety.

When I was finally able to talk to our deputy superintendent, we discussed how to handle all communication. I knew I needed to get pertinent information out to the band families and that Superintendent Dr. Bobby Azam and law enforcement would handle the majority of the media at the crash site.

The first ParentSquare messages we sent out were to inform the parents of the accident and where reunification would take place. Thankfully, Big Spring ISD opened its doors to us and housed our students and staff until parents arrived. The community even brought waters and other small supplies for the students.

All AHS sporting events were canceled the rest of the weekend and the playoff game was rescheduled for the following Monday. Students and staff were supposed to return to school on that following Monday, but the district administration decided to cancel the remaining school days leading up to Thanksgiving break.

On Saturday after the accident, the AISD counseling staff met at the high school for any students who wanted or needed to talk to someone. Our Student Services staff brought in a therapy dogs group and they saw a huge response from our students.

I received an outpouring of support from fellow TSPRA members across the state offering help and guidance through this difficult time. We also received amazing support from school districts and even the Texas Tech Goin’ Band From Raiderland honored our band and band director during the halftime performance the following week.

Memorials were held in honor of both men that following week. AISD hosted Johns’ memorial inside the concert hall while Boswell’s service was held at his local church.

One of the local car dealerships wanted to raise money for the band, so they planned a pork chop drive-thru dinner. We also had a lot of people across the state asking how and where they could donate to the band students. Our technology director set up a link for people who wanted to donate to the band, but didn’t know where or how to send the money. They could then choose where they wanted their donation to be delegated.

Every year, Andrews hosts a Christmas light parade in early December. That year, we had thousands of high school band students bussed in from all over West Texas and beyond to play alongside our Mighty Mustang Marching Band. They walked the short parade route and played Christmas carols for the community. It was one of the most touching things to witness.

Through ParentSquare, we were able to communicate with the students and families on how to pick up their belongings that were left on both buses. Andrews ISD had all letterman jackets left on the bus professionally cleaned before they were returned to the students.

I never went to Big Spring that night. I was able to handle everything from my phone or laptop that we needed to communicate. I don’t think we could have handled this horrific situation any better than we did and our community was very gracious throughout.

Andrews ISD saw how powerful therapy dogs could be with students, so our assistant superintendent of student services began researching and building our own Therapy Dog program. We now have fullycertified therapy dogs and handlers at three of the five campuses as well as one at the administration building. We also have a couple more dogs and handlers that are going through the training and certification process right now.

When November rolled around in 2022, I began thinking about the one-year anniversary coming up. I didn’t know how our community would act or react to a memorial posting on social media. The night before, the football team, cheer squads and band traveled down the same highways to get to Clyde, Texas, for another playoff game. I know emotions were pretty high; I felt it myself.

I am a little thankful the one-year anniversary was on a Saturday. I think it may have been harder on our students and staff if they were in school on the anniversary. I decided not to do anything on social media. I didn’t want to cause a reaction or trigger anyone.

As a public relations professional, you always want to be prepared for the worst-case scenarios. I don’t think anyone or anything could have prepared me for what happened that day. I am just thankful to have a supportive community like TSPRA that I could lean on when tragedy strikes.