As you all are aware, there was a water pipe that burst early Thursday morning, January 31st at William Ford Elementary that caused water damage to several classrooms in the new addition. District plumbers have repaired the plumbing, a restoration company has removed water and damaged materials, disinfected and thoroughly dried the area, and will lead the repairs of any damaged walls. Our engineer and custodians have thoroughly cleaned all furniture and areas of the affected classrooms. The District Director of Operations and the District Director of Safety are assisting and consulting with our engineer with the clean-up and rebuild process. The Superintendent and Executive Director for Fordson Feeder Schools are also debriefed daily. Teachers have been inventorying damaged supplies, books and curriculum materials so that replacement orders can be submitted. Members of our PTA Board also toured the rooms with water damage. Once all repairs are complete, an air quality analysis will be conducted to ensure a clean environment for students and staff. All of these efforts will allow William Ford to be fully back to normal as soon as possible.
Again, this only affected the new addition to William Ford. William Ford is a large building with 31 classrooms, large gathering areas, and many break-out rooms and offices. Therefore, since the day after the water pipe break, students whose rooms were affected, have been temporarily relocated to other areas (media center, special area classrooms, support staff offices, etc.). It will be necessary for two fourth grade classrooms and one kindergarten classroom to continue with this temporary relocation for a few more days. Our teachers have prepared and planned for this and will conduct regular lessons, albeit in another location. In fact, several teachers met at William Ford on Saturday to plan for next week. Additionally, two roving substitutes will work with the Kindergarten and Fourth Grade Teachers on Monday and Tuesday while teachers finalize replacement orders.
As you can see, our staff and district has come together to make sure our students instructional days are minimally disturbed. We appreciate the support and understanding from parents and students due to this weather-related issue. Thank you all for your understanding. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Best regards,
David Higgins
Principal, William Ford Elementary
