Most students were able to take Regents in Albion

Photo by Tom Rivers – Here is how downtown Albion looked at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday after a storm barreled through, knocking out power.

ALBION – With live power wires down, electricity knocked out and trees toppled, Albion school officials cancelled school on Wednesday.

It’s a rare to have a weather event shut down school in June. But Michael Bonnewell, district superintendent, didn’t want to take any chances with live wires down and students forced to dodge so much debris, especially in Carlton.

Parents were notified before 6 a.m. that school would be closed and there wouldn’t be any Regents tests that day. That created a hardship for some students, who wouldn’t get another chance at the tests until August for the course in Global History and Geography and until January for Algebra 2/Trigonmetry.

At about 6 a.m. on Wednesday, the lights came back on for most of the village. National Grid soon had much of the power restored throughout the school district, except for Carlton.

Bonnewell and school officials decided to offer the Regents after all. They got on the phone with as many students and parents as they could. Each test had about 24 students.

“We gave parents the option and if they could safely get to the school,” Bonnewell said.

About 75 percent of the students came in for the test, with Global History at 9:30 a.m. and Algebra 2/Trigonmetry at 2 p.m.

“It wasn’t perfect,” Bonnewell said. “We weren’t able to get a hold of everyone. Some of them had phones where the batteries died. But most of the kids were able to take the test.”