Students expect a school house to always be there for them. But when a school burned down, Tulsa School for Arts and Sciences was left homeless. Hundreds of new students went to a new temporary building today. Channel 8's Kim Jackson found them settling in.
Students and teachers lost everything. If you look at the teachers desk, there is not a stapler, not even red pen. But today they are focused on what they do have.
It was a massive fire that destroyed historic Barnyard Elementary. But the high school students from Tulsa School for Arts and Sciences had just moved into the building. And their dreams of a new start, a new school year--were burning up every second.
"I'm just really happy we have a new school to be in, because yesterday when you see your school is on fire, you are kind of like where am I gonna go now," said Jack Mohn, a senior.
Their school, Tulsa School for Arts and Sciences had just leased the building. Now, a day later, they are settling into Sequoyah Elementary, which had shut down.
The shelves are bare, no textbooks--most burned in the fire.
"The fire happened at 5 am. If it would have happened a few hours later, our students or faculty could have been in the building. We can replace books. We can replace buildings. We cannot replace students," said Jennifer Hughes who is a history teacher.
Hughes is thankful, but already she is thinking up history lesson plans.
"We are just going to go into groups and going to have some discussions until we can get our materials back," she said.
TSAS--had a waiting list of students,which was burned in the fire. But also these students scored third highest in the state on ACT scores.
"It's going to set us back in the short term, but in the long term, I think it will just make us stronger," said Eric Doss, Director.
They are here, but still remembering the fire and the firefighters who were burned. They're making a banner---to hang in their new school--to remind them of a bright new beginning.
They are working with insurance companies to have everything replaced. But in the meantime, teachers know they have to be creative.
