McCarthy Kindergarten, First Graders Off To Middle School

After a pipe burst at McCarthy Elementary School, over school vacation week heavily damaging a wing with 9 classrooms, school leaders made the decision Friday to close the wing.

Starting today, Monday, Feb. 22, kindergarten and first graders from that Framingham elementary school will spend a majority of their day at Fuller Middle School, across the street.

Most likely, this move will be in place until the end of the school year.

Four pipes burst at four Framingham Public Schools over school vacation week. Framingham Director of Buildings and Grounds Matt Torti called the damage “widespread” and “catastrophic.”

The schools damaged were McCarthy Elementary, King Elementary, Framingham High School, and Walsh Middle.

Framingham Patch was the first to report the news on Tuesday afternoon.

On Thursday, air quality tests were conducted at McCarthy and King elementary schools.

The Framingham Teachers Association expressed concerns about the opening of the schools.

“I am concerned. I don’t want the district to rush the decision, when the health and safety of the students and staff are at stake,” said FTA Co-President Sarah McKeon on Thursday.

On Friday, administration made the decision to close the wing and move a majority of the students in that damaged wing to Fuller Middle School.

A combined fourth and fifth grade classroom in the damaged wing is moving to the C wing, and

“Though the wing received a safe indoor air quality rating, there were elevated moisture readings and an accompanying smell that does not provide an appropriate environment for our students and staff,” according to an email sent to parents late Friday afternoon.

Starting today, Monday, Feb. 22:

• Kindergarten and first grade classrooms will be moved to Fuller Middle School
• Fuller 7th graders in C-Wing will be moved to other classrooms

“Arrival and dismissal procedures will remain the same, for those students. All McCarthy students will be dropped off at McCarthy in the morning, and dismissed from there at the end of the day,” wrote Principal Matt Hanlon to parents.

The “K/1 students will all be on the same hallway that will be used ONLY by McCarthy students. They will have a bathroom that will ONLY be used by McCarthy students,” wrote Hanlon.

The Principal has been communicating with parents all weekend, and updating a Q&A.

Fuller’s Principal first notified parents of the changes coming to the middle school in an email Sunday night around 8.

All after-school activities have been cancelled at Fuller Middle for Monday.

Across town today, King Elementary School will re-open despite the its heavy damage.

Framingham High will also re-open but assessment and clean-up continues in the H (arts) wing.

Walsh Middle School’s guidance department was damaged when a “frost-free” pipe burst at that school. School re-opens today after vacation today, too.