A total of 54 Houston ISD campuses will remain closed May 20 following May 16 storms that damaged campuses and caused widespread power outages across Houston.
A number of Heights area-schools are among those that will be closed, including Sinclair Elementary School in the Lazybrook/Timbergrove community, which district officials said was among the most heavily damaged.
A full list of schools that will be closed can be found here. Other schools that cater to the Greater Heights and Lazybrook/Timbergrove areas that will be closed May 20 include:
- Black Middle School
- Field Elementary School
- Hamilton Middle School
- Harvard Elementary School
- Helms Elementary School
- Waltrip High School
Several campuses that were previously expected to open May 20 will instead be closed due to lack of adequate power or air conditioning, including Cage Elementary School, Chrysalis Middle School, Garden Oaks Montessori, Harper DAEP High School, Helms Elementary School, the Houston Math Science and Technology Center, Middle College High School at Felix Fraga, Osborne Elementary School, Secondary DAEP school and Whittier Elementary School. If another school on the open list cannot open because of something that changes overnight, members of the school's community will be notified directly, officials said.
If a child at an open school cannot attend classes, parents are asked to notify the child's campus, if possible.
Posted 4:09 p.m.
Houston ISD officials are assessing damage at Sinclair Elementary School, which serves the Lazybrook/Timbergrove area, to determine when the school could reopen to students and whether some students may need to be relocated to other campuses to finish out the school year.
What happened
Superintendent Mike Miles said Sinclair was the most damaged of HISD's 274 campuses during a destructive wind and rain storm that took place May 16. Winds caused widespread power outages and other damage at district buildings, prompting the closure of all schools May 17 at HISD and at other districts across the Greater Houston area.
Miles initially said he hoped to have all students safely back in classrooms on May 20. Speaking at a May 18 media tour of the damage at Sinclair, he said any schools without power would remain closed. As of 3 p.m. May 19, district officials said 204 schools would open on May 20, with more schools possibly being added as crews work to address power outages. Sinclair was not among the 204 schools in the initial list of those ready to open.
The details
Roughly 45 trees in the Sinclair area got knocked down, causing extensive damage to the portable classrooms behind the school's main building used mainly for second- and fifth-grade students. Miles said the main building itself did not sustain much damage.
"We got really lucky that way, in that you don't have a tree through one of the windows or through the building," Miles said.
The fence surrounding Sinclair was also damaged by trees, and Miles said the damaged part would be removed and replaced with a temporary fence before reopening. Netting will also be put up to bar off students from tree debris.
What readers should know
For schools that don't have power by May 20, Miles said they will most likely be closed until power is restored. Where feasible, such as instances where another school nearby is open and has space, some students of damaged schools may be temporarily relocated to other schools, Miles said, adding that more details will be shared with parents May 19.
"If it's easy to move kids at one school to another, then we’ll do that," he said. "Most likely if a school does not have power, we’ll have to close that school and keep it closed for a while."
At Sinclair, Miles said some of the affected students that took classes in the portable classrooms will be relocated to the school's main building, but he said roughly 100 students will need to take classes in a different school nearby.
"We’ll find a school that has space," he said.
Miles said he didn't think the district will have to add make-up days to the end of the school year because of the storm.
"If the power doesn’t come on for a week, then those kids might have to make up some days, but we’ll see," he said.
Also of note
Miles said a number of HISD campuses saw minor tree and building damage, but three other schools were damaged more extensively.
- At Pugh Elementary School, a tree fell on the main school building, destroying a classroom. On May 18, Miles said he thought they would be able to remove the tree and have the school ready to open, and Pugh was listed as a school that will be open May 20.
- At Paige Elementary School, the wall to one of the classrooms was heavily damaged, but Miles said the rest of the school was safe. Paige was listed as a school that will be open May 20.
- At Robinson Elementary School, the damage was mostly relegated to broken glass, but 10-12 windows were broken. Robinson was not listed among the schools that will be open May 20.
Miles said the district is still working on an estimate for how much damage was caused by the storm. Among the costs, Miles said perishables were lost at schools that saw power outages.
"We have a greet nutrition department, and they’ll be ready to go," Miles said. "On Monday, every kid that comes to school will get breakfast and lunch, like always. It may be bagged breakfast if necessary."
Miles said Sinclair Principal Lee Mashburn was working on details on a plan for students, and the plan would be shared with the Sinclair community.
HISD officials plan to send out updates at 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. May 19 on whether more schools would be open for classes May 20.
