After fire, W. Hempstead Elementary School starts fresh

Kids throughout the state will begin filing back into their classrooms next week. Most will return from the summer smells of s’mores and chlorine to the school smells of locker rooms and cafeteria food. But students attending the George Washington Elementary School in West Hempstead won’t be among them: they’ll experience that clean, sterile, new-building smell.

The scent of spick-and-span will be the only reminder, at least from inside, that the Williams Street building’s annex nearly burned to the ground on Aug. 9. It took a crew of fire-remediation specialists some two weeks to complete a top-to-bottom cleaning of the school building. They were able to repair and erase any and all remnants of smoke and soot from the walls, halls, ceilings, floors, boards, computers and more.

“Everything was cleaned twice,” said Deputy Superintendent Richard Cunningham, adding that the building will be ready for students on the first day of school, Sept. 7.

With new ceiling tiles, floor coverings and paint, the George Washington school renovation was extensive, according to Cunningham, who added it was all covered by insurance. “If we didn’t have [insurance], we wouldn’t have this school open,” he said.

Teachers and volunteers were invited to begin setting up their classrooms and bulletin boards about a week before school was set to start. The annex, which sustained extensive fire and water damage after two 14-year-old boys stared a blaze that engulfed it in flames last month, was gutted and evaluated for potential renovation, Cunningham said.

Schools Superintendent John Hogan had returned home after an extended hospital stay: Hogan was hospitalized after becoming ill and being revived at the scene of the Aug. 9 fire, according to school and police officials. On the district’s website, whufsd.com, was a message from Hogan to the entire school community.

“I can’t begin to tell you how touched the entire Hogan family has been by your many cards, letters, e-mails and telephone calls expressing good wishes, concerns and, most importantly, prayers,” the message read. “How blessed I am to be working in West Hempstead! I am recovering nicely and hope to see all of you soon.”

Cunningham, who has temporarily taken over Hogan’s responsibilities, said the superintendent was “doing well and looking forward to returning to work soon.”

The George Washington school will see some 385 students this year, including 62 first graders who would have been utilizing three classrooms in the annex.

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