Middle school transition going well after one week
RED OAK – Despite ongoing issues regarding picking up and dropping off students, school officials are pleased with the second, first week of school caused by the emergency closing of the middle school.
After a water leak forced the closure of the middle school the week following Labor Days, students returned to class in their new “temporary” home at the Technical Center and High School.
With high school classes cancelled for the day, middle school students attended orientation activities Monday to familiarize them with their new surroundings.
In addition to a different environment, students also had to alter their schedules from eight periods a day to seven, in order to mirror the high school schedule. By doing so, middle school students won’t be sharing the hallways with their high school counterparts, changing classes at staggered times.
“The middle school transition has gone really well,” Red Oak Superintendent Terry Schmidt said. “That was a real challenge. The staff is the one who really pulled that off. Kids are doing well.”
Middle School Principal Nate Perrien echoed Schmidt’s thoughts. “It went better than anticipated,” Perrien said. “A lot of that had to do with the teachers being prepared and positive as possible. Its not ideal by any means and I would say half of the teachers like their current set-up here and the other half would rather go back as soon as they could.”
With the influx of students on the campus, there are more cars, and managing that has been difficult.
“The biggest hang-up is trying to get a handle on traffic,” Schmidt said. “We’ve had parents bringing kids to school and we don’t have that totally worked out yet in the smoothest fashion yet, but we need to.”
Meanwhile, cleanup is progressing quickly at the middle school. As of Friday afternoon, everything had been dried out, and damaged walls had been replaced with new dry wall. Repainting was scheduled for this week, along with mold mitigation efforts.
Schmidt said all of the mold, which was contained to one room, was expected to be completed by the end of the week.
However, the biggest holdup, the electrical work, remains in a holding pattern. Materials need to be delivered and that is expected to take at least a couple more weeks, with another two-three weeks needed for installation.
An electrical engineer, Kris Kunze, is currently assembling proposals along with cost estimates for the school board to consider at its Sept. 22 meeting. The proposals will include various options for the board to consider in relation to short and long term use possibilities for the building.
Kunze recapped the damage for the board via teleconference at its Sept. 8 meeting.
“The water had infiltrated through the conduits … into devices that were contaminated,” he said. “Panel boards in the corridor had water in them in the first floor and a number of fixtures with moisture or had shortened out. With that, there was obviously a concern with not knowing what else it had gotten to.”
It’s that unknown that forced the closure of the entire building, including the gym.
“Water has a mind of its own … a conduit is like a pipe and it can move quite a distance,” Kunze explained. “If water infiltrated any of the conduit system feeding that switch gear, there could be a compromise for the system serving the gym. It needs to be inspected before it can be deemed safe. That’s obviously our no. 1 concern: Safety of the students and safety of the staff.”
As a result of the closed middle school, Perrien said there will be changes to the parent/teacher conferences scheduled for next week.
Instead of the traditional format, Perrien said the 4-8 p.m. time slots on Tuesday and Thursday will be designated for a Open House/Meet Your Teacher event. Middle school students will be able to take parents on a tour of the facility while introducing them to their teachers.