Hurricane Irene Destroys Portable at Potomac Elementary

First, there was the during a professional day for teachers, then high winds and rains pummeled the region four days later.

In the week leading up to the first day of school at , Principal Linda Goldberg was in her office, sitting at her desk, when the earthquake hit.

"It felt like you were on a subway. All I can remember was to stand between the frame of the door," she said.

Just four days later tested the mettle of the school's teachers and staff—25 students and teacher Cathy Sullivan would kick off the new year in unexpected fashion.

Sometime between Saturday, Aug. 27, and Sunday, Aug. 28, a tree fell on a fourth-grade portable. In an e-mail to parents Aug. 29, the school wrote that the building service staff inspected the building and the grounds on Aug. 28 and alerted the school system. The school's central air conditioning unit was also destroyed.

Goldberg said she immediately knew the class needed to be relocated—to the school's media center. A new portable was promptly ordered, and Goldberg and her staff rallied, with assistance from Montgomery Public Schools (MCPS), began the task of bringing order to chaos. Thankfully the damage to the portable was confined to the roof; a new promethean board and all other contents were left undamaged.

"They [MCPS] were Johnny-on-the-spot. Really, it's been quite amazing," said Goldberg, adding that Community Superintendent Donna Hollingshead has been very supportive. And she noted the efforts of her staff, who worked to ensure the students would have a place to learn.

"The whole staff did so much themselves. They did a yeoman's job," she said.

During Back-to-School Night parents, Goldberg said she shared the news about the portable with parents, signaling her reassurance that "'We are safe.'"

"They were very understanding. They certainly knew what happened. I get that the parents want their kids back in the classroom," she said, quickly adding, "[The] kids haven't lost a beat with teaching and learning."

Chris Cram, a spokesperson for MCPS, said they're moving quickly to put the new portable in place. Demolition of the damaged portable began Wednesday and once the new one is in place, a series of steps needs to be carried out including a utility hook up, meeting code and final permitting.

"I would expect it would be in place and ready to be inspected by the first or second week in October," Kram said.

The media center is now open in the afternoons, so that teachers can bring in their students to experience one of the things they cherish most: checking out books.

Goldberg said she feels MCPS is doing everything that it can, and once the new portable is ready for students, "It's all hands on deck," she declared.

Editor's Note: This article has been corrected. In an earlier version of this story, we incorrectly spelled the name of the spokesperson for MCPS. We regret the error.