Flood damage forces students, staff out of Germantown school building
About 60 children in kindergarten through 12th grade have been moved to a shelter-in-place location until the school is repaired.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- There are no students in the classrooms and hallways of the Germantown Masjid Academy in Philadelphia after a flood destroyed the property last week.
Instead of being filled with students, those areas are full of water-soaked debris and dry vacs.
"Water was leaking from the third-floor to the second-floor bathroom, to the first-floor bathroom, and it was raining in the classrooms," said Jewel Davis-Tombul, the program coordinator for the Germantown Masjid Academy.
Davis-Tombul gave Action News a tour of the damage.
She says the flood originally began on the third floor, soaking everything in its path. School staff responded to alarms triggered by the flood water.
The extent of the damage and what caused the flood is still unknown.
"Two classrooms were fully gutted, floors have to be replaced, all three bathrooms have to be redone," noted Davis-Tombul.
The water also caused structural damage to walls, ceilings, and flooring, and electrical wiring needs to be redone.
As a result, about 60 children in kindergarten through 12th grade have been moved to the shelter-in-place location until the school is repaired and deemed safe for daily operation.
The principal says since furniture was destroyed, instead of desks, the students have to sit on the floor.
But through it all, everyone is remaining positive.
"It was a quick transition. Happy to say our staff, students, as well as our parents, have adapted pretty well. Our priority right now is to get the students back in their classrooms," said Principal of Germantown Masjid Academy Mariam Annor.
The nonprofit, tuition-based facility says they have insurance, but it doesn't include flooding.
School staff says they are trying to find the thousands of dollars needed to get the school back open again.
They've started a GoFundMe campaign and are in the process of planning different fundraising efforts.
The timeline for getting kids back in the classrooms is unclear, but the goal is to have everyone back by the start of Ramadan.
"We as individuals here, we just believe that we will be ok. We'll be ok," said Davis-Tombul.
If you would like to help, visit, germantownmasjid.com.
