Prairie Creek Hopes to Reopen Monday

After much work Thursday and now into Friday, Prairie Creek Community School Director Simon Tyler is hopeful the school can reopen Monday after a pipe burst Wednesday and flooded four classrooms.

Here's the latest update he sent to parents Thursday night:

Dear families,

Okay, we've had a busy, but very productive, day developing a response to our water damage problem that occurred last night.  All day, various service groups and workers have been here cleaning, checking systems and preparing to conduct repairs.   At this point we are optimistic that the school will reopen on Monday.  We will communicate a decision tomorrow after reviewing our progress.  Obviously, our primary concern is to ensure that the building is safe and ready before committing to this.

When school reopens, we anticipate that there will be a period while children will not be able to utilize the Kestrels, Robins, Chickadees and the music room where most of the water damage occurred.    The Kestrels and Robins will be set up in the gym, the Chickadees will be on the stage and we will organize a plan for our specials teachers.   While this is of course an adjustment, the emphasis will be on keeping the children's routines as normal as possible.   All the teachers were here today working on this plan.  They have been, unsurprisingly, magnificent - as have Ona and Colleen.  Tomorrow morning, the staff will get together to review our plan for next week.   Our primary concern will be to carefully consider every aspect that will impact your child's learning environment so that the reopening is as smooth as possible.

Again, I'd like to thank you for all your messages of concern and offers of help.  Our cleaning company Service Master has done terrific work. The repair process has already started.  Keeping school closed tomorrow will ensure that check that everything is as should be before we reopen.  I've written a brief blog reflecting on our response as a community: http://prairiecreek.typepad.com/news_from_the_director