NEW CARLISLE — Students will return to class on Monday after a fire forced a local elementary school to close for more than a week.
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New Carlisle Elementary School was closed last week due to cleanup efforts after the roof caught fire when lightning struck it.
The New Carlisle Fire Department, along with mutual aid departments, was called to a fire at New Carlisle Elementary School on Kennison Avenue on Sept. 16, according to a previous News Center 7 report.
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News Center 7 previously reported that Tecumseh Local Schools district leaders said that the soot inside the building was creating an unsafe environment for students.
In a letter to elementary school families, New Carlisle Elementary School Principal Kathryn Randenburg announced that students will return to school on Monday, Sept. 28.
“Over the past several days, many people have worked tirelessly to prepare our learning spaces and ensure that we can safely welcome students back,” Radenburg said in the letter. “We are grateful for the support, patience, and flexibility our families have shown throughout this process.”
Radenburg added that there will be some temporary changes to daily processes.
For fifth-grade students, classes will be held at Medway Elementary School. However, families are asked to continue to drop off and pick up their fifth-grade students at New Carlisle Elementary School as they normally would.
According to the letter, elementary school staff will gather the fifth-grade students, take attendance, and transport them to Medway Elementary by bus each morning and then return them to New Carlisle Elementary at the end of the day. Students will be dismissed through their normal transportation arrangements.
Radenburg said this process will be similar to how they handle field trips.
News Center 7 previously reported that the district was working to secure five mobile classrooms to place on school property to accommodate the fifth-grade students.
“We do have a Plan B, which is to move our NCE fifth grade classrooms to Medway Elementary School temporarily if the mobile classrooms are not ready for our students to begin on Monday, September 28th, when all other students return,” school administration said.
Radenburg said that they are thrilled to have students returning to class, and thanked parents for their continued support.
“We know this has been an unusual time, but we are thrilled to have our students back together and focused on learning. Our staff is looking forward to welcoming everyone on Monday and getting back into our school routines. Thank you again for your continued support. We cannot wait to see our students,” Radenburg said in the letter to parents.
News Center 7 will continue following this story.
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