Hundreds of Michigan Avenue Elementary School parents came to First Baptist Church of Cleveland Saturday morning for an orientation session. Their children will begin school Monday in 30 church classrooms because the April 27 tornado damaged the school. Staff photo by Randall HigginsBRADLEY SCHOOLSSchools: 12 elementary schools, two middle and two high schools, REACH Adult High School and GOAL AcademyStudents: More than 10,300Source: Bradley County Schools
CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Twelve days after they left their classrooms to find shelter from tornadoes, Bradley County’s 10,300 students return to class Monday – though not all of them will be going back to the same schools.
More than 800 pupils were displaced by storm damage at Blue Springs and Michigan Avenue elementary schools. Blue Springs students will be going to Waterville Community Elementary, and Michigan Avenue students will be at First Baptist Church on Stuart Road through the end of the school year. The church’s new facilities opened in 2010 and include about 30 classrooms.
Waterville Community and First Baptist held parent orientation meetings Saturday morning. Parents learned where to drop off and pick up their children while students got acquainted with their new classrooms.
“When we built this campus, it was our desire to minister to the community in a variety of ways,” First Baptist co-pastor Jim Gibson told the hundreds of parents there.