SUSD community responds to fire at Navajo

Board members, principals, parents and Ed Center employees responded to help Sunday after a weekend fire destroyed Building E at Navajo Elementary.

Thanks to their efforts, school opened on time today for all Navajo students. Volunteers prepared alternative classrooms at Navajo for the three fifth grade classes that were destroyed in the fire along with a Title 1 room. The Panda preschool program was moved to Cherokee Elementary for the remainder of the school year. Building E will not be used for the rest of this school year.

AIMS testing, scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, is expected to take place as planned said Principal Mark Haugen.

The fire was reported about 10 p.m. Saturday and was contained in the building. Counselors are available today to speak to any students or staff who need to speak with someone about the fire and its impact.

Board members Sandra Zapein-Ferrero and Karen Beckvar assisted in preparing classrooms for students. Principals Mike Duff, Wendy Cohen and Margaret Serna helped prepare the classrooms and provided supplies from their schools to replace items lost in the fire. PTA President Lori Simonson and her family made telephone calls to alert other school families that Navajo would be open today. Other district employees assisted in a variety of ways to help prepare the school for classes today.

Office Depot also helped by donating some of the supplies needed to ready the new fifth grade classrooms for today.

The cause of the fire is not known at this time.

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