Fire forces Lexington middle school to shift to remote learning. What comes next?
Students at Fayette County’s Southern Middle School will move to remote learning next week after a fire left the school with damage in “nearly every corner of the building.”
Southern Principal Kevin Payne said in an email to families that students will be learning remotely through March 10.
“We are working with district teams and outside contractors to quickly address repairs, clean-up, and restoration of our building, and we will provide additional updates as soon as we can,” he wrote.
Payne said parents would receive another email Sunday night with more details.
The fire at the school on Wilson Downing Road was reported at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, while a boys basketball game was in progress. Payne said the school was evacuated, and though the fire was contained to two classrooms, “nearly every corner of the building was impacted by fire, smoke, or water damage following this incident.
“The necessary steps taken to extinguish the fire resulted in broken windows, damaged ductwork, ceilings, and more,” Payne wrote. “For your safety, we ask that everyone refrain from coming to campus.”
Payne said boxed lunches, including a breakfast for the following day, can be picked up in the school’s bus loop Tuesday through Friday between 11 a.m. and noon.
He said students who need to pick up Chromebooks or personal belongings can come to the school between 8 and 10 a.m. or 4 and 6 p.m. Monday, and staff will be available to help retrieve the items.
Payne said students should be online by 9 a.m. Monday to meet with their second-period teachers via a Zoom link that will be posted in Canvas, a program that he said “all students are familiar with as a part of our normal learning.” The email to parents provided a link to an online schedule for the coming week.
