Chelsea School Reaches Out to ‘Help Thy Neighbor’ After Fire Damages Whitefield School

On Friday, Whitefield had to evacuate its school due to a fire in the gym just after 10AM. A light fixture is suspected as the cause. The students were released without incident. The downside is, it's going to be a week before kids can go back. The good news is, the school community in RSU 12 is tight and, with little hesitation, Chelsea Principal Andrew Doiron and the faculty came to the rescue.

The post on Chelsea School's Facebook page really says it all. This is a great example of what makes rural Maine such a great place to raise kids!

To the Chelsea School Community:

As your are probably aware, the Whitefield community suffered a set back on Friday morning when a fire broke out in the school gym as a result of a over heated light in the ceiling. The school building was evacuated quickly and safely and students and staff were able to be relocated to the church next door and later dismissed.

As a result of this incident, Whitefield school will be unable to provide educational services in their building for at least the next week as they estimate the damage and create a plan for that space moving forward.

Moving forward our plan will be to open our building to Whitefield school students and staff for at least the next week, if not more….

Whitefield students will be arriving on Tuesday morning to join our school community.

Operation "Help Thy Neighbor" as we are calling it, is in full effect.

Chelsea and Whitefield staff have been made aware of these plans and we will be adjusting our routines and practices to help welcome our RSU partners and work together to get through this unfortunate incident. We will be meeting with all Chelsea students on Monday to communicate the plan moving forward.

We have repurposed spaces within the Chelsea School building to allow Whitefield students and staff their own classroom locations within the building to continue their education and keep their experience as "normal" as possible.

Being a "community" school has taken on a whole new meaning and we appreciate your flexibility as we help and support our neighbors!
Stay tuned for more information on FB, instant alert, email and in your child's backpack.