Teachers, students of fire-damaged Henrico school need supplies

HENRICO, Va. -- An accidental fire in a mechanical room at Baker Elementary School caused significant damage to the roof and briefly left hundreds of students and staff in limbo.

Air scrubbing equipment has been deployed to clean the air in the building, though school officials aren’t sure exactly when Baker will reopen.

In addition to the school cleanup there`s also a plan to get students back on track and school system leaders said individuals and organizations are eager to help.

Teachers were not able to go in and get any supplies from inside their classrooms after the fire.

Community Organizer Ricky Johnson, of The Ricky Johnson and Friends Organization, plans this weekend to pull parents, and community members together to collect supplies for the school.

“Of course learning and education can`t stop when tragedy happens,” Johnson said. “We are asking community to step up and donate at any one of our partner stores at Five Below, or Walgreens this week and we`ll have a huge drive at these stores…this coming Saturday from 9 to 4 p.m."

Johnson said in this critical moment he hopes to rally as many as possible to help students, who for now have been reassigned to three different schools.

It is unknown how long Baker Elementary student will be relocated to other schools.

"For the kids at Baker this is home and having to adjust to a new place, we want to make it as easy as possible in order for them to make this transition,” he said.

Students had two days off and will be going back to school Wednesday at the following schools:

Pre-K and students in the Early Childhood Special Education Program will temporarily attend school at the New Bridge Learning Center, 5915 Nine Mile Road.

Students in grades K-2 will temporarily attend Mehfoud Elementary School, 8320 Buffin Road.

Students in grades 3-5 will temporarily attend Varina Elementary School, 2551 New Market Road.

School hours for Baker students will remain the same: 8:10 a.m.-2:40 p.m.

“These schools were identified because they have available classroom space, so no students who currently go to those schools will be disrupted,” said Henrico County Schools Spokesman Andy Jenks.

Parents like Zena Keys felt a bit more at ease after learning what was going on and where her daughter will be going.

However, she’s concerned with teachers not having supplies and hoping the community can help.

“They aren’t able to go in and get any supplies or anything that they already had in the classrooms,” said Keys.

If you'd like to help, you can either make a monetary donation or donate school supplies. Here is more information from Henrico County School officials:

In response to community inquiries about ways to help Baker Elementary School students and staff recover from a fire, there are now two ways to help: make a monetary donation or donate items of school supplies. A fire on Sunday, March 19 caused significant smoke-and-water damage to classroom supplies and student materials at the school at 6651 Willson Road in eastern Henrico County.

For tax-deductible monetary donations, the Henrico Education Foundation has announced the creation of the Baker Elementary School Emergency School Supply Fund. Donations can be made by going to a secure portal on the foundation’s website, henricofoundation.org.