BEAVERCREEK SCHOOLS KEEP HELPING TORNADO VICTIMS
As first day of school approaches, district focuses on 50 families displaced or disrupted by tornado.
Dozens of Beavercreek children were displaced with their families by the Memorial Day tornado, adding extra challenges for parents and the school district as the first day of school approaches.
The first day of school in Beavercreek is Aug. 14, and the district is working with 50 families with students who were displaced from their homes after the tornado.
The district is required by law to provide transportation for displaced students, and the district is also providing a part-time counselor for tornado-impacted families through a donation from Be Hope Church, according to Beavercreek City Schools Spokesman Ryan Gilding.
“We are actively talking with families to ascertain and connect them with needed resources in the community,” Gilding said. “The support our community has offered ... has been incredible. Our staff members have stepped up over the summer months to give the needed assistance so many of our families need.”
Gilding said “a substantial amount” of school supplies have been donated over the summer, but more are expected to be delivered this weekend.
Supplies can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and Saturday at Shaw or Main elementaries. From 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Shaw Elementary, new backpacks stuffed with supplies will be provided to students in need and parents will be able to shop at no charge for a variety of every day necessities.
The Beavercreek Tornado Network Facebook group is hosting this weekend’s events. Aysha Osten, who created the page initially to help friends and family recover from the tornado, said the storm forced some families to move out of Beavercreek to other nearby communities.
“We just want to make sure the kids are OK and excited. They’ve been traumatized, and we just want them to be happy,” said Osten, a parent of a junior high student. “Getting back into a routine and dealing with work and everything is going to be a challenge.”