(Courtesy of Eliot-Hine Middle School)

(Photo courtesy of Eliot-Hine Middle School)

Update

Eliot-Hine Middle School in Northeast D.C. will be closed again on Thursday due to extensive flooding and water damage from heavy rains on Tuesday.

The school will relocate temporarily to the Garnet-Patterson Middle School building located at 2001 10th Street Northwest, principal Marlene Magrino said in a letter to parents on Wednesday evening. It’s still unclear how long the school’s classes will be moved there. Garnet-Patterson closed in 2013, and it’s since been used as a temporary home for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

According to Magrino’s letter, shuttles will transport students from Eliot-Hine to Garnet-Patterson at 8 a.m. and bring them back to Eliot-Hine at 3:15 p.m.

“The Department of General Services and the DCPS teams are working to ensure that the areas of Eliot-Hine Middle School affected by the water damage undergo extensive repair and cleaning so students and staff can return safely,” the letter reads.

Original

A middle school in Northeast is closed on the third day of the school year after sustaining flood damage in Tuesday’s rainstorm.

Eliot-Hine Middle School principal Marlene Magrino sent an email out to families on Tuesday night advising them of the school’s closure. She said there was flooding in “multiple areas of the building,” which started during Tuesday afternoon’s downpour. School officials moved students to dry areas of the building and finished out the school day. They also called the Department of General Services to come out and assess the extent of the damage, Magrino said in her email.

The school offered a hot meal for students at Eastern High School at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen told DCist that there is significant damage to the school building. Eliot-Hine is currently undergoing a modernization plan that includes the demolition of two back buildings, which caused some drainage problems that led to water pooling near the main school building, Allen says. Water entered on the third floor and damaged the hallway and several classrooms, and then seeped down to the second and first floors, too.

Allen also says that, because the message about the closure was sent out late Tuesday night, several students were arriving for the school day when he got to Eliot-Hine to look at the damage this morning. Teachers and other school officials were trying to get in contact with their parents and give them the correct information.

It’s still unclear whether the school will be able to reopen on Thursday. DCPS said more information is forthcoming. DGS has not yet responded to a request for comment.

This post has been updated.

Filed Under: dcps, eliot-hine middle school, floods,