LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – Clarkdale Attendance Center has completed renovations on the 300 building, which houses the main office and 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classrooms.
The building took on heavy storm damage in 2022.
“We had a lot of damage from a tornado in April of 2022 right before State testing. We had this far end of the building, of this 300 building that we’re in, was heavily damaged, rooms pretty much flooded. We did some temporary cover up to the building with some tarps and things, and we were able to have State testing in May in this building,” said Elementary Principal Dr. Angie McHenry.
Even though educators were able to finish state testing, McHenry said the structure was no longer fit for long-term use.
“It gradually got so much worse that we had to evacuate this building after a few months. It was pretty tough for the teacher for that end of that next year, that very first semester before we got the modular buildings in,” said McHenry.
Classroom were moved into modular homes while the School District came up with a plan of action for the building.
“Part of the delay was working with the insurance companies to try to make sure that everything was covered and that we could get as much back from insurance because we never know what insurance is going to do until you have a catastrophe,” said McHenry.
Now the repairs and renovations are complete, and teachers have already started moving in and preparing for the upcoming school year.
“We have a brand new roof, which is wonderful. That’s the biggest thing. New paint, we have new book bag holders outside the classrooms that are going to be really nice from having to put the book bags on the floor, having them take up space in the classrooms. So, we’re real excited about that. New LED lighting… New security system. We have re-keyed everything, not just in this new building but on campus for better security for not having so many master keys out and you know, just take care of teachers and students a little bit better. We have, in all of this new building, we have these blinds that allow us to see out and provide a lot of shade, but they are not able to see inside, so that’s another layer of security,” said McHenry.
Dr. McHenry said everyone at Clarkdale is excited for this new start.
“The teachers are all just excited to be back in this building. It’s going to make things so much easier, and we feel like it’s going to be the first, I would say, normal year we’ve had since Covid basically because it was one thing after another,” said McHenry.
She said the past few years have been a challenge , but when it comes to Clarkdale’s students— it’s worth it.
“I just hope, and I feel sure they will be, that they are just as excited as the teachers are about being in this new, fresh building. I think it’s just going to be a much more calm learning environment for the students,” said McHenry.
Teachers return to Clarkdale on August 1st, while students will have a staggered start, with half returning on August 6th and the other half returning on August 7th.
