Storm ruins preschool classes

mpschool--ne0907

Photo courtesy of seana mcpherson

The roof was torn off the education wing of Trinity United Methodist Church, forcing Trinity Preschool to relocate.

Trinity Preschool in Mount Prospect will start classes a week late.

But at least teachers and students will have a roof over their heads in their temporary home at St. John's Lutheran Church, 1101 S. Linneman Road, when classes begin Monday.

The preschool, which has been housed at Trinity United Methodist Church, 605 W. Golf Road, fell victim to the storm that hit the village Aug. 23.

Mary Ristau, the director of the preschool, a not-for-profit outreach of the church, said the roof was torn loose from its education wing.

Because the workmen couldn't go on the roof to repair it, the rain poured into the open space.

"All of the classrooms had water in them," she said. "It was coming through the ceiling and coming through the light fixtures."

By the time the rain finished, the area was flooded.

"It is right now completely unusable. We have lost pretty much everything that is in there," said Seana McPherson, a co-chair on the board of directors.

Casualties include educational materials, classroom equipment, books, play mats art supplies, computers and phones.

The tricycles were apparently spared. "As long as they're not rusty, that's about the only thing we're recouping right now," McPherson added.

With classes for 60-70 children scheduled to start this week, the need to find space was critical. Fortunately for the school, St. John still had the space it used for a school until four years ago.

"It could have been worse, in that we could have been shut down, if St. John's Lutheran School did not (become available)," McPherson said.

"They were gracious enough to allow us to move in and come in here," Ristau said. "The classrooms are very nice. They are large and spacious, and luckily they had tables and chairs, which helped us."

They didn't have equipment, however.

"So all of my teachers brought in things from home and sent out e-mails to everybody they know," Ristau said.

"It was an unused facility so it had to be cleaned," McPherson said, adding, "It shut down four years ago, so other than tables and chairs, there really wasn't anything in there that we could use.

"The teachers have just done a phenomenal job of going in. They cleaned up the place and they have made it look homey."

Ristau said it is still unclear how much damage occurred to the building on Golf Road. "We have not been allowed to remove anything yet, so some things could be saved, but it could also be a total loss."

The area is undergoing environmental testing. Meanwhile, other groups using the wing have relocated to other areas of the church.

The main part of the church was unaffected.