Crews working hard to prepare Wind Point school for Mitchell kids



RACINE (WITI) -- Workers are spending the weekend preparing the vacant Wind Point Elementary School to accommodate students from Racine's Mitchell School. This, after a fire gutted Mitchell School's gymnasium early Thursday morning, 27th, and caused the gymnasium's roof to collapse. The fire also led to the collapse of the gymnasium's roof, and there is smoke and water damage in other parts of the school.

"We're going to try and make the best of a difficult situation," Racine School District spokesperson Jane Flis said.

Flis says the 460 Mitchell Elementary School students will finish out the school year at Wind Point Elementary -- closed in December of 2012.

"We were re-districting our elementary school and right-sizing our district," Flis said.

Wind Point Elementary is located eight miles from Mitchell.

Beginning Wednesday, March 5th, Mitchell Elementary students will fill Wind Point Elementary School's halls.

"We are providing bus transportation for our students at Mitchell Elementary who normally walk to school," Flis said.

Mitchell staff are set to report to Wind Point Elementary on Tuesday, March 4th. Later that night, an open house is planned for parents.

Additionally, Flis says because the fire and move may be traumatic for these kindergarten through fifth-graders, counselors will be made available for Mitchell students at Wind Point Elementary.

Mitchell Middle School students will return to Mitchell on March 18th -- as long as their side of the building passes a fire inspection and environmental testing set to take place on Monday.

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