East Somerville Community School asks for help following devastating fire

 Note from Jamie Norton:  This was sent to us via email this morning.

 
The Somerville Public Schools asks for your help.  Our largest elementary school, the East Somerville Community School, was significantly damaged in a 3-alarm fire early Sunday morning, December 9^th.  We are striving to re-establish the high quality and vibrant educational process in three alternate locations sometime during the week of Dec.17^th.

We need help to make 35 alternate classrooms and 585 students ready for learning and teaching. There are five ways you can help:

1.  Make a cash donation to the Somerville Public Schools to support the acquisition of non-essential academic instructional resources for teachers – items such as bulletin boards, storytelling supplies, and math manipulatives are needed. Donations of any amount are welcome, and may be sent to the Somerville Public Schools in care of Pat Durette, Director of Finance, 181 Washington Street , Somerville MA 02143 . Please put “ESCS Fire Response” in the check memo line. 

2.  Send new or gently used instructional materials and tools for teachers to use.  A wish list is attached, along with instructions for shipping donations of material supplies.

 

3.  Adopt a classroom or a student and provide age-appropriate school supply goodie bags for students.  This project being undertaken by the Parent Teacher Association under the fantastic leadership of Louise Weiand, Sue Leone and Christine Bissette, will ensure every East Somerville Community School student has the basic supplies needed for learning when they restart school.  Instructions for adopting a classroom or a student are attached.

4.  Can’t create goodie bags for students, but want to help students?  Consider donating $25 to the PTA to adopt a student, or $550 to adopt a class. Checks made out to the Somerville PTA may be sent to Louise Weiand, PTA Council President, 10 Otis Street , Somerville MA 02145 .  Please put “ESCS Fire Response” in the check memo line.

5.  Volunteers are needed to make photocopies for teachers and to help set up teacher classrooms on Monday 12/17 or Tuesday, 12/18.  If you can volunteer time beginning at 10:00 AM, please contact Gretchen Kinder at 617-625-6600 x6013 or gkinder@k12.somerville.ma.us.

On behalf of the East Somerville Community School Principal Dr. Holly Hatch, Superintendent Pierantozzi, and the entire community THANK YOU! 

Together we can quickly restore this vibrant school community where Every Student Can Succeed!

-gk-
Gretchen Kinder
Coordinator of Research & Development, Public Information and Grants
Somerville Public Schools
617-625-6600 x6013
gkinder@k12.somerville.ma.us

Comments

[Election]

What a disaster!

[cabbie]

Disaster? Do you mean the fire or the fact that Gretchen has to ask for cash donations? I pay taxes. Taxes are supposed to pay for the school system. Now the school, the parents and I'm sure even the students have to pony up to replace what was destroyed? If I believe what I read in comments here on the News Stan the Seaman Kotty can get funding for a 250K stump remover. Yet the City can't fund replacing what was lost in the fire? Is the school system now only responsible for the building itself? What about insurance? Shouldn't there be an insurance claim that will cover the losses?

Sorry to rant but much like the response to yesterday's killer blizzard it appears to me that Government is failing us again. Gretchen, please understand the bottom line point is you shouldn't have to or need to ask for donations to run a public school.

[Ron Newman]

I thought Somerville did a pretty good job responding to the "blizzard". And even if the school is insured, there's probably a high deductible, not to mention that insurance claims take a while to pay. The school needs to replace materials quickly so that it can reopen (in displaced classrooms).

[Election]

The school fire is a disaster! They have the right to ask for money, right? You don't have to give anything, obviously.
JN, I think the "wish list" disappeared. The text is blue, but there is no link...

[Nathan Henstra]

Cabbie consider the difference between planned and unplanned expenses. The purchase of an expensive piece of machinery is researched, planned and budgeted, over time. A fire that burns an elementary school, disrupts its operations and scatters its staff and students is clearly different. It is immediate, dangerous, unplanned and there is no procedure for action when swift action is required. It is a DISASTER and asking for help is not unreasonable.
As for the governments failure during the blizzard, I must agree with you. It would have been better if the city had not caused it to snow that day. In retrospect, the city government probably regrets the choice.

[Donations]

How much money has been donated to date by the very well-compensated Administrators and teachers of the Somerville Public Schools, and School Committee members? These people should certainly have started quite a healthy fund before they need to ask parents for more money than they already give!

[Election]

Tell us more about what you know about the compensation of Somerville Public Schools' employees.

[Tank McNamara]

A call by the Mayor to Staples and Home Depot will resolve many of the non-essential academic instructional resources.

[You're Right]

You're right....Staples, Home Depot, Target, Christmas Tree Shop, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid.....are all making lots of money operating their businesses in Somerville. Have they been approached? I should think Target or Home Depot or Staples could deliver a small truck load of school supplies! Target for one touts their community service projects. Sometimes all you have to do is ask! I guess it's easier to turn once again to the parents and the taxpayers.

[Election]

Good point. And it would be great publicity as well. Joe, you bragged about how you got NStar to sponsor the fireworks, right? WHy cannot you get Staples and HomeDept to pitch in in this serious situation?

[Nans]

Despite any insurance that the ESCS may have, these kids need to be placed back in a school ASAP... if it requires Somerville residents helping out in the meantime, I have no problem with that. My daughter goes to a different school in Somerville... I just wonder how would I feel if it was HER school this happened to - and would I want everyone that could help assist these students get past a scary situation, in a new school environment...? if a goodie bag with basic student needs helps, I will help! I hope others will too! Some situations require immediate action while all the other logistics are sorted out and I think for the kids' sake, this is one of those situations.

[Clownface]

the schools and the city have been working together to get donations from a ton of local big box businesses like target, staples, office max, and ikea. donations from tufts and mit have been delivered, book companuies are helping and so are groups like the somerville math fund, and many people who live here and in places all over the state like the towns of newburyport and worcester. the city isn't jsut asking parents and in fact left it to eht pta to ask parents if they wanted.

[Good News]

It's good to know that the city has worked successfully with schools and colleges in the area to help out. However, issuing a press release with a plea for help in finding school supplies, without including that information, appears to indicate that the residents alone are being asked to re-supply the school! I'd still like to know whether the fund was started with large donations by school and city administrators and elected officials. They can well afford to help and hopefully they have.