James L. Dennis Elementary Closed This Week from Damaging Storms

By Emily Wood, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY – Students are returning to school this morning after a long weekend, but students at James L. Dennis Elementary won't be coming back to their school for some time. It's closed after being heavily damaged by storms last week.

The school principal said the building still is not structurally sound. The roof is still falling in.

Workers spent the weekend trying to clean up the damage. Architects and engineers are also still working to assess the damage. School will be out the rest of the week. Students will not return to classes until September 13.

When school is back in session, students will have class at other locations:

• Pre-K -- 1st Grade: Ralph Downs Elementary
• 2nd Grade – 3rd Grade: High Point Church
• 4th Grade – 5th Grade: PC North High School

The principal expects repairs to take at least one month and she hopes the changes will not add days to the calendar.

School officials are planning to meet with parents Thursday night to talk about the issues at the school.