RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Fox Elementary School students and teachers will soon have a temporary new place to call home.
Students will begin classes at Clark Springs Elementary on Monday after waiting weeks for building upgrades and repairs to be completed.
The Fox community celebrated their move out of First Baptist Church at the 42nd annual Strawberry Street Festival Saturday. This year, it was held at Clark Springs to signify a turning point in the school year and to benefit the Fox Parent Teacher Association.
A devastating fire destroyed the historic Fox Elementary School building in early February, and since then the community has showed support by holding fundraisers and walks.
The Richmond school board voted in late March to renovate Fox Elementary instead of demolishing it and rebuilding it. The principal, Daniela Jacobs, said they’re prepared to embrace Clark Springs as their new school.
“First Baptist took us in first and that was just a blessing and such a wonderful thing for them to do,” she said. “But you know it wasn’t our space, so to be able to now come here. We got a playground, huge gorgeous fields and you know we can now make this our home.”
Families got an inside look at Clark Springs ahead of the first day of classes, and teachers spent the first week of May packing up their supplies and setting up their classrooms.