WPS weathers the storm: UPDATED

We've just received the following from Superintendent Boone:

Last night's storm provided great excitement, heavy wind & rain, lots of lightening, and of course, spawned a tornado. Members of our Finance and Operations Team have spent the day assessing the storm's impact on our schools.  Once again, WPS was spared the brunt of serious damage from the storm and tornado. 

Below is a summary of issues that have been addressed today: Millbury Street Head Start was the only building to lose power. This outage was created by a neighbor's tree snagging power lines as it came down during the tornado/storm. Power remains out there now, however, National Grid crews are on the scene and we expect power to be restored by5:00 pm today, so that building should be available for its programs on tomorrow.  

Burncoat Senior HS, Nelson Place, Worcester Arts Magnet School, and Goddard Elementary each experienced water intrusion as a result of the very heavy rain.  That cleanup has been underway and normal school operations are expected in those sites tomorrow.  

City crews are out working to clear streets and sidewalks in the Grafton Hill and Vernon Hill areas so that buses and children will be able to navigate safely to school tomorrow morning.  

I want to express my appreciation to Jeff Martin, Tom Barrett, Brian Allen and all members of the district's trades and custodial crews for the rapid and highly effective response to this weather event! As indicated during the school opening message, these team members worked very hard to have our school sites ready and now they continue to work to restore that readiness for Tuesday morning!  

So, schools will be open and operating tomorrow under normal conditions!  Should anything occur throughout the evening or overnight to impact that, I will notify you of changes.

UPDATE: Mr. Allen just let us know that Millbury Head Start has their power back on. 

Early Friday afternoon update from City Manager

We've just received an email from City Manager O'Brien, which includes the following information:

City Hall is closed as of 12:00 PM today due to the predicted severity of storm throughout the afternoon and early evening.  Per my advisory, our Emergency Operations Center is open, fully staffed and operational and will be throughout the storm and through until tomorrow.  As also noted in advisory, the City's Customer Service Center is open and will be throughout the storm and through until tomorrow 508-929-1300. WRTA has decided to cease operations as of 1:00 PM today - Friday, February 8, 2013 through tomorrow, Saturday, February 9, 2013.  It will resume normal service on Sunday, February 10, 2013We have taken the steps to establish an emergency shelter and to engage our shelter-provision partners such as the Red Cross.  Additional details to follow on the status and location of this operation.

Worcester Public Schools post-Irene

This update came in last night from Brian Allen:

Power Outages:  During the height of the storm, there were 5 schools without power.  As of this writing, Flagg Street and Nelson Place continue not to have power.  These are National Grid  issues and will be restored when power is restored to these neighborhoods.  The Quadrant Managers will work with these two principals for contingency plans for staff for tomorrow if the power outages continue through the morning.

Battening down the hatches at Worcester Public Schools

I've just received the following email from Chief Financial and Operations Officer, Brian Allen, regarding the district's preparation for incoming Hurricane Irene:

With regards to facilities:  we are currently taking proactive measures to make sure buildings are secure and roof drains are clear.  Immediately after the storm, we have scheduled mandatory building checks at most of our locations, particularly those sites that have historical issues with water infiltration during heavy storms.    We currently do not plan to activate building custodians until employees can travel safely from their homes to school facilities.  All schools will also have external checks after the storm as well by the key facilities staff.  Depending on the potential wind damage, we are prepared to inspect the all buildings for downed trees, broken windows, or other issues due to the storm.

Tornadoes in Massachusetts

How did the Worcester Public Schools fare?
(with thanks to Superintendent Boone for her update this evening)
Most of the kids were home by the time the storms came through. Two exceptions: the Roosevelt after school program kept the kids until the storm passed; they headed home around 6:30. Also, some Flagg Street kids were coming home from Boston on a field trip and spent the storm at a rest stop in Framingham. All made it back safely and were picked up by their parents.
Superintendent Boone has offered assistance to the superintendent of the Springfield Public Schools, Alan Ingram.

(And yes, Worcester does have school tomorrow. The governor has asked that superintendents in AFFECTED communities call off school. That's not Worcester.)