The Tuscaloosa City School Board of Education has established a hotline for parents to call should they have any questions or concerns about the upcoming school year that will open on Wednesday.
After the April 27 tornado destroyed three schools in the Tuscaloosa area, many students, teachers and staff were forced to relocate to other schools. The displacement of students raised questions and concerns among parents, and the hotline is one of several continuing efforts that the school board has made to ensure the first day of school runs smoothly. Schools will open Aug. 10.
“We want to do everything we can to keep the lines of communication open,” said Lesley Bruinton, public relations coordinator for the school board. “The principals have been making personal phone calls to every child’s family that was affected, because we need to locate families and know where they are.”
The board is working to get everyone ready for school by making sure counseling is available, transportation services are adequate and school supplies are provided.
“We have received a $174,000 grant from the Save the Children program to provide psycho-social counseling to those who were affected,” said Missy Stephens, director of elementary education and counselor coordinator.
Stephens said that because of the grant, 16 part-time counselors have been hired for one year.
Transportation will also be available to any student who attends school in the Tuscaloosa area, no matter what school zone they live in. The three schools destroyed were Alberta Elementary School, which will now share a building with the Tuscaloosa Magnet School, University Place Elementary school, which will now be a part of Stillman Heights Education Center, and University Place Middle, which will share a facility with Westlawn Middle school.
“We don’t want addresses to be a deterrent from returning to school,” Stephens said. “We just need to be informed of where the student is and we will get a bus out there.”
School supplies have been sorted into book bags and will be given to students.
Bruinton said parents would now be able to focus on other financial expenditures, instead of worrying about paper and pencils.
“With all of the donations, school supplies are now the least of their concerns,” Bruinton said.
The Adopt-A-Teacher program has been instated so that community members can purchase items that have been specifically requested by certain teachers.
Bruinton said that graphing calculators and graphing paper are items that are still in short supply, but that the schools will accept any donations. She also said that the amounts of donations still coming in are overwhelming.
“We live in a community that is just as passionate about education as it is about its football team,” Bruinton said. “Day one of this school year will be no different than any other school day. The children are going to be here on August 10 whether we are ready for them or not. And we will be ready.”
