Maple Grove Elementary Students move into Joppa High School due to severe weather damage

JOPPA, Ill. (KFVS) - Students at one Southern Illinois elementary school are on the move after storm damage forced them out of their building.

Schools leaders at Maple Grove Elementary recently discovered that damage caused by severe weather a few weeks ago.

According to the Joppa-Maple Grove Schools Superintendent, Dr. Vickie Artman, Maple Grove Elementary is shut down due to multiple reasons, including storm damage, problems with their chillers and air quality and spore growth.

“We did conduct three feasibility studies in preparation of making a decision. This is definitely not the best type of situation to be pushed into this,” said Dr. Artman.

Maple Grove Elementary students returned to class on August 11, but soon after the first bells rang, the students had to make a switch to virtual learning.

Dr. Artman said that the students will move to Joppa High School on Monday, August 21, using empty classrooms for the time being. Meanwhile, the school is working to make the elementary school safe for students.

“I had a meeting this morning with the Illinois state board of education. We do have some different options, possibility of some grants, very small amount but there are some things out there that we’re going to look at and hopefully help us make a quality decision,” said Dr. Artman.

Cleanup could take anywhere from six to eight weeks. Dr. Artman said the goal is to get students back in the elementary school building.

“But we’re doing the best we can because we know that students do better with in person learning and not E-learning,” said Dr. Artman.

Dr. Artman said a committee made up of school board members, administrators, teachers, community members, school architects and their director of maintenance are meeting Thursday evening on August 24 in a closed door meeting to discuss the future of what’s next.

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