When Can We Go Home? - 1-30-18

When Can We Go Home? 1-30-18

Today our team is going three different ways. A team will stay here at Templo Emmanuel, a team will go back to Pasedena Alliance and Todd and I (Priscilla) will travel to the temporary residence of Thompson Intermediary School.

I don't know what to expect. It is a school, so there will be children going to school of course. But when I arrive I realize it is a different kind of school.

Temporary Buildings Provided By FEMA

After Hurricane Harvey came, the Thompson school campus was no longer habitable. When the flooding receded it left behind a nasty sludge and a building ravaged by about a foot of standing water.

We meet with several assistant principles.

Assistant Principal Wayne Sanders

Assistance Principle Wayne Sanders says that he thought the children would be divided up and sent to different schools and the teachers would be parceled out in a similar manner. This additional stress on the children and teachers, many of which didn't have a home they could go back too , would have been very difficult and prolonged the recovery process for the children and the school itself.

“The children needed structure and routine.” Sanders said, “They needed a place they could come to every day where they could feel safe.”

A solution arrived through FEMA. In a week, twelve temporary buildings were set up in the parking lot behind Bevery Hills Intermediary school, giving displaced Thompson Intermediary twenty-four classrooms they could call their own. Sanders says, “Our school was closed for only two weeks. I don't know how everything came together so well.”

Todd Jackson smiles and says, “I know how.”

Sanders responds, “Yes, we knew people were praying.”

Assistant Principal Christy (center) - Todd Jackson delivers a check of funds raised by

York Academy Regional Charter School

Christy, another assistant principle shares, “Some children didn't have food, so we would send food home with them.” I am told that 118 children still are displaced, meaning they cannot go back to their homes yet.

As Christy and Wayne share, I feel their hearts. They care deeply about these children. They said they had some concern when they merged campuses with Beverly Hills Intermediary. The two schools were rival schools and they now shared the cafeteria, bathrooms, some gym equipment, etc.. Would the children be able to share the same space?

Everyone could feel and see evidences of the stress the hurricane had laid on them all. BUT the transition went far smoother than leaders could have hoped. The kids are resilient the principles agreed.

However, it has been a long haul. “We're all eager to get back home,” the leaders say. February 16^th is when the old building will hopefully be ready and they can begin the transition. “It will be like starting the school year all over again,” Wayne says, but he says it with hope.

Thompson Intermediate School

I have heard of this longing for going home again and again as I talk to people here in Baytown and Houston. It's been a long haul, but people are beginning to see the end. Their moving day is a matter of weeks out.

“When are we going home,” the Thompson Intermediary School children ask. Soon. You're going home soon.