麻豆影院 Valley schools sustained nearly $5 million in damage because of September's flooding, and now 鈥� nearly three months after water poured through several buildings and inundated athletics fields, playgrounds and parking lots 鈥� district officials say the repairs are nearly complete.听Better yet, the repairs are virtually all paid for.
麻豆影院 Valley School District spokesman Briggs Gamblin said that a combination flood insurance reimbursements, FEMA money from the federal government, grants from the state, and funds raised by the Colorado non-profit Impact on Education, will cover almost all of BVSD鈥檚 losses.
鈥淥ne of the things about a crisis is that people don鈥檛 stop and ask, 鈥業s that my area?鈥� People just do it. People organize quickly and they identify needs quickly,鈥� Gamblin said.
麻豆影院 Valley School District is the seventh largest school district in Colorado. More than half of BVSD鈥檚 buildings were damaged in September鈥檚 floods and four of those buildings received, 鈥渕oderate to severe damage,鈥� according to a letter written by Superintendent Bruce K. Messinger to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.听This wasn鈥檛 the first flood 麻豆影院 experienced, but it was unique in the challenges it presented, Gamblin said. The floods blocked off access to all of 麻豆影院鈥檚 major canyons, making made BVSD鈥檚 job of getting help to the schools, students, and teachers difficult, but even more imperative.
Immediately after the flood, disaster recovery crews at听Crest View Elementary, Foothill Elementary, Community Montessori Elementary, Mesa Elementary, Platt Middle, 麻豆影院 High and Centaurus High cost the district $1.6 million. Playground repairs at听Eldorado K-8, Flatirons Elementary and Ryan Elementary also needed to be done, and 麻豆影院 High's athletic fields needed substantial work.
But it was two elementary schools 鈥� Crest View in north 麻豆影院 and Jamestown Elementary in Jamestown 鈥� that suffered the most damage and disruption. Flood waters surged through 85 percent of Crest View and kept kids out of school for longer than two weeks. Jamestown Elementary didn't sustain as much damage, but the town's near-total evacuation forced the school to split into two units housed in different buildings, neither in Jamestown.
"We鈥檙e still not recovered," said Jill Williams, a kindergarten enrichment teacher at Crest View. "I think it won鈥檛 really be right until spring and maybe not completely normal until next fall.鈥�
颁谤别蝉迟听痴颈别飞听蝉迟谤辞苍驳
Merlyn Holmes was awakened by a phone call during the night of Sept. 12.
鈥淥ur first thoughts were, 鈥極h goody, we have a rain day!鈥� We were a bit slow on the uptake. It seemed more like a snow day than an emergency,鈥� Holmes said.
Holmes鈥� property is safely nestled near a retention pond not far from Crest View Elementary. 鈥淲e watched that retention pond fill and drain and fill and drain repeatedly. It was really very beautiful and peaceful,鈥� she said.
As the day progressed, however, Holmes and her family quickly realized the severity of the rain. The family walked to the Broadway underpass near their house, and realized the flood waters were raging.
鈥淥ur big question was: where were these waters going?鈥� Holmes said. 鈥淚t was only later the next day that we visited Crest View and we were shocked at seeing all the flood damage. There was a waterfall going through the playground.鈥�
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Included in Messinger鈥檚 letter to Gov. Hickenlooper was a cost estimate submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Among those costs? An alternate program site for Crest View students, food spoilage, fiber optic network damage, reconstruction, remediation, and cleanup.
Officials realized the challenge that lay before them on Thursday, Sept. 12.
鈥淭he one school that really sustained some damage beyond that which could be handled by our maintenance people was Crest View Elementary School,鈥� Gamblin said.
Holmes鈥� 6-year-old son, Landryk, was out of school for two-and-a-half weeks.
鈥淲e did a lot of juggling at that time with work schedules and trying to figure out what would be best for our son,鈥� she said.
An alternate program was made available through a partnership between BVSD and the YMCA. Teachers and some substitutes held classes at the Lafayette YMCA, including Williams, whose class became very interested in learning about rain.
鈥淚t was only natural to look out the window and talk about something we were experiencing and feeling depressed over, together,鈥� Williams said. She shared the book 鈥淲hat Makes Rain: the Story of a Raindrop鈥� with her kindergarteners.
Williams said that other teachers connected with their students during the flood in a multitude of ways, including video lessons and websites set up with lessons and educational material.
Buses were provided for students to attend the program, which was offered at $50 per day to families and at no cost to those who self-identified as being on free and reduced-price lunch programs.
Volunteers offered to help at the school, Gamblin said, but because of health and safety concerns, professionals had to be brought in to do the job first. Thirteen days of non-stop construction and repair work aided in recovering the school from much of the damage. 鈥淢achines were clunking away at Crest View at 3 a.m.,鈥� Gamblin said. 鈥淭he neighbors were great. They also suffered damage and they were very supportive.鈥�
Anything that was absorbent had to go 鈥� materials, books, shelving, drywall, and carpets. What could be salvaged was loaded into unmarked cardboard boxes for teachers to sort through once they were allowed to return to the building.
Home Depot built shelving for teachers and puppet theaters for the kindergarten classrooms. Numerous businesses and other schools donated supplies and books to Crest View.
"听donated free items to the kindergarten teachers, so I received a dollhouse for my room," Williams said.
, the company in charge of cleaning and restoration of the school, also threw a Halloween party for their own staff and Crest View faculty.
The school鈥檚 outdoor vegetable garden and its habitat and wetlands areas are still damaged.听Asbestos and mold tests are continuing to be conducted throughout the year. And until recently, hot lunches were prepared off-site and brought to the school for lunchtime.
But is the school back to 鈥渘ormal" yet?
鈥淜ids are so adaptable at this age,鈥� Holmes said. The students were able to settle back into a day-to-day routine of learning, 鈥渆ven when they were on concrete floors and had no books on the shelves.鈥�
Williams credited the school's community and Principal Ned Levine, calling them both "amazing."
鈥淲e never could have recovered without either of them," Williams said.
Gamblin acknowledged neither he nor the school district, in the immediate aftermath of the flood, knew exactly how big a challenge BVSD faced.
Holmes said that although there is always room for improvement, she was impressed with how BVSD has handled the situation.
鈥淭he one area where I hope all this will have a lasting impact on the children is in not taking things for granted and being grateful. I know we parents feel that and I鈥檓 sure the staff and faculty do, too,鈥� Holmes said.听鈥淪ome children donated their life savings 鈥� their piggy banks 鈥� to the Crest View fund. They were aware that this was a big deal and they were really happy to have a school to go to and to help.鈥�
Teachers adapted lesson plans to help students understand the flood and its impact. They asked: How does a rain cycle work? Why is rain good for our planet and how could it be harmful in a flood? And maybe most importantly: How can we help our community?
This lesson wasn't just one for the kids. It was one for the adults, too, one they're still learning as they try to get back to "normal."
A home听for听Jamestown听Elementary
Jamestown Elementary School was also a challenge, but for different reasons, Gamblin said.
The school was used as an evacuation center for the town and 鈥渨ill need some soap and water,鈥� he said.
Jamestown鈥檚 challenge is on a different level than Crest View鈥檚.
The school is intact and the students are learning. The town, meanwhile, faces an overhaul, leaving the school to play a waiting game.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just waiting for full-town service access,鈥� Gamblin said.
Jamestown, Colo., suffered extreme devastation after September鈥檚 floods. With only some roads recently repaired, structures still damaged, and a water distribution system that remains offline, the town鈥檚 school, Jamestown Elementary, was forced to split and relocate for the year.
After September鈥檚 floods, Beth Brotherton, Principal Scott Boesel's assistant, decided to remain in her home in Jamestown and with her students.
The new "Jamestown West" recently settled into its new home for the year in Glacier View Ranch at Colorado Mountain Conference Center in Ward, Colo. The school currently has 14 students in first through fifth grade and two instructors, including Brotherton.
Meanwhile, "Jamestown East" is located in a classroom in Community Montessori in 麻豆影院. The classroom is home to six students in third through fifth grade, and one part-time kindergartener. The students鈥� teacher from Jamestown Elementary went with her students to their new classroom in 麻豆影院.
Many families from Jamestown Elementary are open-enrolled and their homes are located above the mountains. They received minimal water damage, Brotherton said. Shortly after the flood, The families met to discuss what would be best for the town, their children鈥檚 education, and for the well-being of each of their families.
One first grader鈥檚 family offered its home to use as a school. The local volunteer fire department helped bring in tables for students to work on. Carpets were removed and a cork floor was installed.
On the first Wednesday back in class, 16 children showed up to their new classroom.
鈥淲e stayed there for six weeks and we taught there for six weeks,鈥� Brotherton said.
Volunteers came to teach music lessons twice a week. Recess was held in the backyard with a swing set and fort, and the kids ate lunch at the picnic tables outside.
This temporary school was something the children will remember forever. It couldn鈥檛 last, though.
鈥淭he district brought us all together and asked us what we wanted. We knew we couldn鈥檛 legally stay there,鈥� Brotherton said.
BVSD planned to use modular classrooms on the property of Glacier View Ranch. But between high costs, wind, and the trouble of transporting the modulars along the severely damaged roads, officials quickly realized this wouldn鈥檛 work.
The district negotiated with Glacier View Ranch to use a building on the property. 鈥淎 beautiful log cabin, actually. It鈥檚 as big as Jamestown Town Hall,鈥� Brotherton said.
Brotherton said learning is definitely happening at Glacier View Ranch. The building is 鈥渧ery homey... It鈥檚 a good place for the kids.鈥�
鈥淚t really is amazing how well it鈥檚 working out,鈥� Brotherton said. 鈥淲e feel really safe up there. The district really took care of us. They did a good job.鈥�
Private schools听also听suffer
Listen to the audio story below by Lauren Maslen to learn about how Homestar Child Development Center was affected by the flood. Below that is a video story by Joseph Wirth on 麻豆影院's Waldorf Kindergarten.
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