RICHMOND, Va. -- Firefighters returned to Fox Elementary School Sunday to put out hot spots following a massive fire Friday night that caused significant destruction to the building. As the school smoldered, messages of love and efforts to support the community continued to grow.
“It’s definitely more than just a building," said Gabrielle Evans.
The 16-year-old spent six years at Fox during her formative years as a child. She visited the school Sunday afternoon with her father to take the sight in.
“I met so many amazing people here and really got to find myself, and really, I just felt like I was a part of a community,” Evans said. “It's just really sad to see what it looks like now.”
Evans said her fondest memories of her time at Fox include attending an after-school care program and playing on the playground with her friends.
"Just try to remember everything in positive aspects," she said. "Hold onto those memories."
With a learning environment stripped away from students, hundreds of families are now wondering what happens next. Richmond School Board member Jonathan Young said Richmond Public Schools leadership is in the beginning stages of figuring out the future.
“All options have to be on the table," he said.
Students will begin virtual learning on Wednesday after two days off Monday and Tuesday. Young said virtual learning will likely last for at least two weeks and potentially longer. Then ideally, he said a physical space might be available for students.
Young said one option is the now vacant Saint Gertrude High School on Stuart Avenue in the Museum District. It's about a five-minute drive from Fox.
"There are conversations happening with Gertrude leadership," he said. "It certainly could be a really attractive option for RPS particularly because it's just down the street."
However, he said some work would have to be done first in order to serve younger students if Saint Gertrude is the option officially decided by RPS.
"If we were to do something there for the short term, that may require, for example, switching out toilets and sinks to accommodate little ones," Young said.
Another option is Clark Springs Elementary School which was closed by the district several years ago.
“I understand with Clark Springs, it may require a significant investment," Young said. "There is some concern relevant to the roof.”
However, Young said it probably wouldn't be the case that Clark Springs needs an entirely new roof for students to move in immediately.
Additionally, he said a local church has offered to provide space but emphasized that no official decisions are even close to being made at this point.
Young said his top three priorities for choosing a building include moving as swiftly as possible to avoid an extended period of virtual learning, proximity to Fox, and making sure the Fox family stays together and is not scattered among different spots in the city.
Meanwhile, grassroots efforts are underway to support staff at Fox who lost everything in their classrooms.
“My heart immediately just sank for all the teachers and the kids here," said Amy Foster.
Foster along with Ann Marie Halstead said they can only imagine the heartbreak teachers are currently experiencing as they're both former public school teachers.
“We were thinking about all the teachers’ classrooms," Halstead said. "Those beautiful, welcoming, inclusive, warm spaces that they spent years developing and building. We thought some of that is so irreplaceable, but maybe we could help a little bit."
“Teachers spend so much of their own hard-earned money out of their own pockets for these kids," Foster said. "It’s going to take a while to replace.”
The Midlothian women are collecting Amazon gift cards to send to all 37 instructors along with personalized gift bags. They created an Amazon Wish List and have asked community members to purchase gift cards and other trinkets. So far, they said enough people have participated to give every teacher at least $100 in Amazon gift cards and that amount could grow even more.
“Hope is not the building," Foster said. "Just remember that the hope and the family are you guys: the teachers or the students or the administrators.”
“It's so clear that they're supported in so many ways by so many people outside of this small area but rather the whole RVA region," Halstead said.
Halstead and Foster plan to personally deliver the gifts in the coming days.
