CHCCS Shares Plan for Students Affected by Seawell Elementary Fire

A fire in a building at Seawell Elementary School means some students will be displaced from their classrooms for the rest of the week.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district shared a longer-term plan on Tuesday for third, fourth, and fifth grade students unable to attend classes on Tuesday after a fire broke out in the Lawler/B-building late on Monday night. A message sent out Tuesday afternoon laid out all students’ return to in-person learning on Wednesday, January 10 — despite the facility still needed cleanup following a fire in its HVAC/mechanical room.

Third and LEAP fourth graders, those students who stayed home Tuesday, will resume instruction at Seawell in available spaces like empty classrooms, library areas, and the cafeteria. Fifth grade students, meanwhile, will be walked to Smith Middle School to take classes in available space at the Carolina Center for Educational Excellence (CCEE). Principal Minnie Goins and other district administrators will be on-site to ensure students are walked to the proper areas and to monitor the CCEE during the day.

CHCCS officials said all student arrivals and dismissals are still required to take place at Seawell Elementary. The fifth graders will be walked to and from Smith Middle School at the beginning and end of each school day, and should not be dropped off there. Additionally, those students will eat their lunches at the middle school — with the students having the opportunity to get food from Smith’s cafeteria and eating it in the CCEE space.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district sent out an initial alert to parents at 11:43 p.m. on Monday, saying school officials were alerted to a small fire in the Lawler/B-building that resulted in water damage and “a persistent odor of smoke” in the facility.

The HVAC and mechanical room where Monday’s fire took place is accessible only from the exterior of the school, according to CHCCS Chief Communications Officer Andy Jenks.

“This morning,” he wrote in Tuesday’s message, “district and school-based leaders walked the hallways and exterior of the Lawler/B-building. At the time (8:30 a.m.) there was a potent odor of burnt plastic (from HVAC equipment/parts) throughout the building. With the exception of a few ceiling tiles and a thin residue of dust/soot, classroom spaces were not visibly damaged.”

Jenks added, though, that there is no timeline yet of a return of students to the Lawler/B-building.

“It is not immediately clear how long it will take to remove the odors, clean all surfaces and objects, obtain parts and make HVAC repairs,” he wrote. “We’ll keep you posted as the week progresses.”

These arrangements for affected third, fourth and fifth graders at Seawell Elementary will be in place for January 10 through January 12. If a longer-term plan is necessary, according to Jenks, parents will receive more information at the end of the week.

The district said families and guardians who may have questions related to their individual students are encouraged to contact their respective Seawell Elementary teacher or other school staff.

Photo via the Seawell Elementary School PTA Facebook page.

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CHCCS Shares Plan for Students Affected by Seawell Elementary Fire

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