Harmony Heights School in East Norwich, destroyed by fire in 2023, is back on track

Officials at the Girls’ Therapeutic Day School said their East Norwich building is fully operational nearly a year and a half after a fire ravaged the building, causing extensive damage and requiring a change of management.

Teachers at Harmony Heights Residential and Day School said the front of their Walnut Avenue building was severely damaged in a fire in May 2023. Approximately 70 firefighters from various departments extinguished the overnight blaze, then brought it under control within about an hour. As reported by Newsday..

The fire severely damaged many offices and student rooms. The corridors and classrooms were covered with ash, and the photos of diplomas hanging on the walls were burned.

School officials said the portion of the school that houses administrative offices, counseling and therapy services, as well as a gymnasium and other services, “suffered significant damage, costing more than $3 million to repair.”

“We were supposed to have prom next week,” recalled Kathryn Nastri, the school’s retired executive director.

She remembers having to drag items out of the building “hours after the fire was out to air them out on the front lawn so hopefully we can still use them.”

Theresa Cherba, the school’s director of human resources, said the fire started near the school’s front door, an area where students go when they need to regroup. She added that the cause of the fire was unfounded.

Students and staff worked remotely for the remainder of the school year and during the six-week summer course.

They returned to the building for another school year, but while the front of the building was being rebuilt, administrators, therapists and other staff were working from three trailers in the parking lot, officials said.

“We lost students because we had to go remote for a while,” said school principal Tatiana Pejkovic. “It certainly had a big impact on the stress levels of our staff.”

The school can accommodate 80 students. Cherba said the school had about 65 students at the time of the fire, but that number is now about 56. According to the school’s website, the school serves girls in grades 8 through 12 who are classified as having emotional or other disabilities. health problems. School tuition is often covered by the district where the student’s home school is located, sending him or her to Harmony Heights.

Pejkovic said regardless of the weather, staff and students were constantly coming in and out of the building and trailers for therapy sessions and other work. She said she even worked in the hallways sometimes.

“It definitely felt chaotic. We are used to being together as a community,” she said.

However, Pejkovic added that “the reunion is a completely different atmosphere than the last year and a half.”

Cherba said the fire was a tragedy, but also a blessing in disguise.

This enabled them to modernize several parts of the building, including improving the lighting, security system and several other rooms. The new gymnasium was one of the last rooms opened this month.

The improvements come as the nonprofit celebrates its 50th anniversary of opening.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” Cherba said. “We have a beautiful new building ready to accommodate students who need our services.”