GREAT FALLS — Lincoln Elementary School in Great Falls is ready to welcome students back after a windstorm tore the roof off the building's southern half in March.
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The storm happened on a Sunday, leaving no one in the building at the time. By the next morning, faculty and staff were boxing up classrooms, initially thinking the entire school would need to relocate.
Principal Stephen Yates was helping his parents move when a neighbor called him with the news. He originally thought only a small part of the roof had been damaged.
"About six blocks from here, I started seeing insulation and showed up, and I called the superintendent and the assistant superintendent, and I'm like, you're not going to believe this," Yates said.
City and emergency crews worked to cordon off the building while staff assessed the damage. By mid-morning, school leaders learned half the building had been spared.
"Then about mid-morning, we got the okay that half the building was going to be all right. And so then we were able to move third grade from up here, down into kind of the primary wing," Yates said.
Yates said the section that came off was actually a cap over an existing roof, and crews were able to minimize damage by patching leaks. Fourth graders finished the year at Lewis and Clark, while 5th and 6th grade students relocated to Paris Gibson Education Center.
Yates called it an amazing turnaround and said staff at the receiving schools were incredibly helpful. The new roof was completed before the school year ended, and students could even return for special events during the final days.
"The fun thing is to really honor those kids, particularly the sixth graders who wouldn't be coming back," Yates said.
In addition to a new roof, crews cleaned out asbestos, installed a new drop ceiling, and refinished floors.
For sixth-grade teacher Josh Mueller, getting his classroom ready this year looked a little different than in years past.
"Coming back and having to unbox everything that we boxed up back in March was a little cumbersome. Just because it's like putting a whole new classroom back together," Mueller said.
Mueller noted that exterior walls were spared, saving teachers time.
"The nice thing is none of our walls on the exterior were damaged in terms of bulletin boards, things like that. So that saved our teachers a lot of time not having to redo those," Mueller said.
Both Yates and Mueller said they were amazed by students' resilience, staff determination, and community commitment.
"But, coming back, it's kind of a sense of relief that we get to just be back with everybody and getting to see the building again, getting to see our classrooms that most of us have been in for many years," Mueller said.
Yates said Lincoln Elementary holds a special place in the community.
"Lincoln's a special place. And my kids went here, my wife went here, her parents went here. And it's just a special place to learn and teach, and we're excited to get back to normal," Yates said.
WATCH: Lincoln Elementary School damaged by severe winds (Mar. 08, 2026)
