Hopewell Junior School to resume classes in church

WEST CHESTER, Ohio (WXIX) - Students at Hopewell Junior School who had to switch to remote learning due to a fire at the school on Monday will return to class but in a different building.

A spokeswoman for the Lakotal Local School District says students and staff will move to the West Chester Nazarene Church beginning next Tuesday for in-person classes.

Betsy Fuller says the district is hopeful the students will be able to able to move back into Hopewell Junior within two weeks.

Students have been in remote learning since Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for West Chester Township says the fire at the school appears to have started in the coach’s changing room.

The cause appears to be accidental and electrical in nature, according to spokeswoman Barb Wilson.

Principal Jeff Rouff said it has been a double-whammy for students and staff.

“Certainly, for a lot of us at Hopewell, who have been there awhile, it’s a punch in the gut,” the principal said. “That’s our home.”>

Pastor Mahaffey West Chester Nazarene Church offered the school the church’s resources.

They are turning their choir room into a classroom and the church sanctuary will be used for classrooms and a general assembly area.

Faith Community United Methodist Church is also pitching in to help students. They will take some of the students who studied music in a classroom near where the fire started.

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