HOOPER BAY: Four months late, the students come to class in a big, bright facility.
Students and teachers in Hooper Bay have eagerly moved into their roomy new school, a gigantic spread that replaces the musty old school that went up in flames in a sprawling August blaze, said principal Ken Hagel.
Builders fast-tracked the 73,000-square-foot building, already under construction when the fire charred a neighborhood-sized section of the Southwest Alaska village on Aug. 3, leaving more than 70 people homeless. Full-time classes began Dec. 11 for the first time since May, with about 375 students attending.
"I'd say morale is real high among staff and high among students," Hagel said.
The building has great lighting and large classrooms, he said. The new gym is a highlight, big enough for community gatherings and with new bleachers that close without "an act of God."
The wait has been challenging, Hagel said. Most of the high school kids shipped off to other villages to attend school. Many of them have returned. Other students took basic courses in makeshift classrooms at the Covenant Church and elsewhere. Some high school students earned credit building new homes to replace the ones that burned down.
Much of the teacher housing also burned in the fire, which was started beneath the old school by kids playing with matches, fire investigators said. The units that remained had no water or sewer until November. Teachers doubled or tripled up in those units, buying portable showers and bathing in totes, Hagel said.
"It's been a real adventure," he said.
Kids will make up lost time with some six-day weeks and a short Christmas break. Administrators also extended classes by three weeks. School will end June 8. After their day off on New Year's, students get just one holiday for five months.
"Then it's a grind," Hagel said.
Daily News reporter Alex deMarban can be reached at ademarban@adn.com.
