Whitefield Elementary School reopened for classes Monday, April 13 after the second light fixture fire in the school’s gymnasium in a little over a year closed the school for two weeks.
In a coordinated effort dubbed Operation Help Thy Neighbor, Chelsea Elementary School hosted the approximately 174 students and staff from Whitefield Elementary School while repairs in Whitefield were underway.
Whitefield Elementary School was closed on Friday, March 27 due to the fire. By Tuesday, March 31, Chelsea Elementary School Principal Andy Doiron and Whitefield Elementary School Principal Joshua McNaughton had worked out the logistics of temporarily moving an entire school.
“It is amazing how well this has gone,” Doiron said at the RSU 12 Board of Directors meeting Thursday, April 9.
Doiron shuffled around staff and students at Chelsea Elementary School to make 12 classrooms available to the staff and students at Whitefield Elementary School.
Bus schedules were arranged so Whitefield students returned home at their usual time.
The traditional rivalry between Whitefield and Chelsea school’s sports teams were temporarily laid to rest, Doiron said. Chelsea school’s staff and students welcomed Whitefield with open arms.
The parent of three Whitefield Elementary School students attended the RSU 12 board meeting with the sole purpose of speaking during the public comment session. “I just want to thank everyone,” the parent said.
His children were experiencing “a healthy dose of anxiety,” over attending school in Chelsea, he said. That anxiety disappeared after their first day there because they felt so welcomed, he said.
“Some say this experience has been like going to a really nice hotel on vacation,” Doiron said. “It’s great for a week or so but eventually you want to go home.”
On April 13, Whitefield Elementary School staff and students returned to their own school building. The RSU 12 board gave McNaughton and Doiron a standing ovation for the long hours they put in to ensure the transition caused by the fire went smoothly.
