After Franklin Community Schools installed a system to remove contaminants from under two schools this summer, 298 students returned to Webb Elementary School for the first day of the school year Wednesday.
Tests earlier this year at both Webb and Needham elementary schools showed elevated levels of volatile organic compounds TCE and PCE in the ground underneath the schools, with sub-slab tests in early March at Webb showing levels of TCE at 849, 242 and 225 micrograms per cubic meter, exceeding the 70 microgram recommended limit set by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Since then, Indianapolis-based EnviroForensics conducted two other rounds of tests, which showed levels of the compounds in most areas in the ground underneath both schools decreased to less than 10.7 micrograms per cubic meter, with no areas more than 50 micrograms. Students returned to school after spring break and both schools conducted open houses for parents at the school gymnasium, spokesperson Robin Betts said.
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Along with the open houses, Franklin Schools continually posted updates on its website and emailed parents with information on testing and the process of removing the compounds from underneath the ground. The process involves a depressurization system that uses fans to suck the gaseous vapors from underneath the ground and clear them through the air above the roofs of the schools, Operations Director Jeff Sewell said in June.
“I think the school corporation did a really good job being transparent with everything going on,” Principal Coke Zook said. “Webb and Needham are probably the safest schools in the state with the testing and everything being done. I’m extremely confident. My son is a preschool student here and I’m confident it’s safe. Good things are happening and will continue to happen.”
The process of removing the compounds is ongoing, but runs automatically and the pipes needed for the system aren’t visible in most areas of the school. Because the compounds were underground and not in the school’s air, Webb was always safe, but removing the compounds provides extra assurance and the ability to move forward after receiving those testing results, Superintendent David Clendening said.
“I think it was always a safe place,” Clendening said. “We’re back to school and everyone is excited to be here.”
At Webb Elementary School on Wednesday, the vaporization system was an afterthought, as students in kindergarten through fifth grade entered class for the first time since May with its new principal, greeting students during an assembly at the school gymnasium and reminding them to “Be Awesome.”
“The path to success is being awesome,” Zook said. “It’s not just a saying, it’s a way of life. When you say it and hear it enough, you’ll feel awesome inside. Each morning when I pop my head in, I’ll ask a first grade class ‘will you be average today?’ and they’ll say ‘no Mr. Zook, we’re awesome.’ A lot of our kids, no matter where you come from and your past, can choose to be awesome every day.”
Being awesome is not just about personal achievement, but about how students interact with others, kindergarten teacher Belinda Williams said.
“We already started it, we told every child they are awesome and they will hear that every year,” Williams said. “The biggest thing in my room is love and respect for everyone. If you’re loving and respecting everyone, everything else falls into place.”
Zook, who worked for four years as an assistant principal at North Decatur Elementary School before coming to Webb this summer, wants to bring a coaching mentality to the school from his years in athletics and help students find a way to achieve their goals.
One of those paths is through visiting colleges. Elementary school students throughout the district will visit colleges all over central and southern Indiana, including Indiana University, Franklin College, Southern Indiana University and colleges in Indianapolis, Clendening said.
“For a lot of our kids, it’s about the first exposure to what the future could look like; we tap into that early,” Clendening said.
Third grade teacher Katie Bingham, who taught first grade two years ago, is excited to see the same group of students, she said.
“This year will be fun, I had this group in first grade,” Bingham said. “I’m excited to see the growth they’ve already made and third grade is a big change anyway, (I’m looking forward to) seeing how much they’re gonna grow over this next year.”
Going back to school is an opportunity to make new friends and learn new things, third grader Lexi Martin said.
“I’m excited I get to learn more stuff and I’m excited to be here with a lot of new kids and make new friends,” Martin said. “To be awesome I try to work really hard and I have fun doing it.”
