HOUSTON - Old schools are getting new life in the wake of Harvey flooding and it’s taking a lot of work to get them ready for students again.
“They’re ready, they’re anxious, they’re ready to start,” said Scarborough Elementary principal Miriam Medina. On Monday, the former Terrell Junior High will become Scarborough’s temporary home.
“This is going to be a challenging year, but we’re going to make it,” said Medina. Medina is overseeing the transition for the school’s staff and over 700 students.
“When the will is there, it’s going to happen,” said Medina. “And we have that will.”
Scarborough suffered significant damage due to Harvey. In fact, it may need to be rebuilt rather than renovated.
“If I had to rate it from the way we rated our campuses, mild, critical, or catastrophic,” said HISD COO Brian Busby. “I would rate it as catastrophic.”
According to Busby, the district will use five vacant buildings as temporary schools this year, including Terrell. All of them have required some level of rapid renovation.
“And I can speak both as a parent and employee,” said Busby. “I think we’re a very resilient district and we have each other’s back.”
Medina said it will be a memorable year for schools like Scarborough. Not necessarily because of the flood, but the effort to overcome it.
“We’re all in this together,” said Medina.
Many Scarborough students suffered flood damage at their homes as well, that’s what made principal Medina the most upset. They’re hoping to make their temporary school as welcoming as possible.