West Side School students return after fire heavily damaged library, learning lab, community rooms

For the first time since a fire ravaged a portion of West Side School in Laurel Hollow last month, students gathered for their daily morning assembly on Monday.

The elementary school students, sitting in the gymnasium, sang the school's anthem, learned about upcoming activities and listened to announcements from their student council president.

"It’s great to see everyone back in the same school together," Timmy Mullen, 12, told his peers and school staff. "Thank you for all being so flexible and staying positive."

The school's approximately 220 students, in second through sixth grade, had been relocated to three other district buildings after an early morning fire March 10 in part of the historic West Side School. Officials said the library, creative learning lab and community rooms sustained extensive damage, and other parts of the building also suffered water and smoke damage.

School librarian Erica Emmons, who has been with the district for about 18 years, said the library lost about 16,000 pieces of material, including print books, DVDs and audiobooks.

"I worked hard for that collection to make it what it was and suit all the needs of the staff and the students. ... They lost a huge part of their school and childhood," she said.

Cold Spring Harbor Central School District Superintendent Joseph Monastero said Monday that officials had worked tirelessly to reopen the school as quickly as possible.

"Everyday we had 9 o’clock and 3 o'clock construction meetings to see where we’re at, seven days a week," he said. "We were working here to make sure we could get our kids back in."

'West Side Strong'

On Monday, the fruits of that labor were on display.

As students returned to school following their spring break, they were greeted at the entrances by staff members, mimicking the celebrations often reserved for the first day of school after summer vacation.

One drop-off location was decorated with blue and white balloons, with a whale on top. White banners were also displayed outside the building with colorful letters proclaiming "Welcome Back."

Principal John Barnes, wearing a navy blue shirt with the words "West Side Strong" on the back, thanked students and staff at the morning assembly for their patience and hard work during the weeks away from the school. He played a video montage displaying pictures of students, staff and workers during the hiatus. 

"It takes an entire village, and our village really came together in such a beautiful way, whether it be parents that showed up to donate food to workers, whether it be our [Parent Teacher Group] working tirelessly," Barnes said. "I am filled with joy that we come back together again."

Elisa Rossi, co-president of the school's Parent Teacher Group, said that during spring break, her members and several students decorated some of the school's new bulletin boards and helped out with plantings. She said her children, in second and fourth grade, were excited to get back to their "home" on Monday.

"This morning I didn't even have to shake them out of bed," she said.

Thousands of books collected

Along with a new bulletin board, fifth grade classrooms that had water damage received new desks and book cubbies, among other items, Monastero said. Officials also focused on remediating smoke damage.

"Anything that could have held in smoke, like ceiling tiles, electrical outlets, flooring, was replaced," he said. "We wanted to make sure we came back to the safest possible environment." 

He said the cost of the damage and renovations is still being assessed, but noted it will be covered by insurance.

Emmons, the librarian, is currently working out of a science prep room. She said district officials are working on setting up a temporary space until the library is renovated.

The community has come together to help replenish the library, she said. The high school's key club collected about 2,000 books during a recent drive for the school. The Cold Spring Harbor library also collected a couple of hundred books, she said.

The historic school, which dates back almost 250 years, started as a one-room schoolhouse that George Washington visited in 1790 while it was under construction, according to the district.to here