Families,
As I’m sure you are by now aware, there was a terrible fire at Eisenhower Elementary last night which completely destroyed the modular classrooms and caused extensive smoke and water damage to the rest of the building. Due to the damage and process necessary to restore the facility, the building will have to be closed for the remainder of the school year. Although this disaster will present us with new challenges, we are so thankful that the fire took place at a time when the building was empty. We are fortunate that our losses were only material that, for the most part, can be replaced.
Our team has been hard at work assisting the insurance company, investigators, and restoration crew in response to the fire, and developing a plan to get the students from Eisenhower back in front of their teachers as soon as humanly possible. We are very optimistic that with some hard work we will be able to welcome those students back to school (at new locations obviously) this Wednesday, April 21. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, it will be necessary for us to divide the students and staff up between two locations as we work through the last seven weeks of the school year.
The plan is to move Eisenhower's Fourth Grade students to Horace Mann Elementary, and the Fifth Grade students to the Junior High school. Monday, April 19, and Tuesday, April 20 will be asynchronous remote instruction days for Eisenhower Elementary students. Teachers will post the day’s activities by 9:30 am each day. All other buildings will operate on a normal schedule. Additional communications with more specific details will follow on Monday and Tuesday. This will include (but not limited to) information regarding parent drop off/pick up at the new locations, as well as details surrounding the bus location for those students who used to walk to Eisenhower.
We understand that remote learning days are a burden to our families, but these asynchronous days are necessary to give our teachers and staff the time they need to prepare the rooms at Horace Mann and the Junior High so they can be student-ready by Wednesday. The teachers will also need time to create/gather new teaching materials as they will be unable to retrieve any of the salvageable materials from Eisenhower for some time.
We want to thank the firefighters who responded to the call last night for their outstanding work containing the fire as quickly as they did. They are true heroes who put themselves at risk for our community, and we are so thankful for their dedication, courage, and expertise. We also want to thank those of you who reached out with well-wishes and concern. We are truly blessed to work in a community that is so thoughtful and compassionate. With your help and the hard work of our dedicated and resilient staff, we will overcome this catastrophe.
Thank you all for your continued support,
Mr. Michael J. Vuckovich
Superintendent of Schools