The Houston Independent School District has responded to the city’s request to open up Johnston and M.C. Williams middle schools as emergency shelters today to assist residents affected by storms that resulted in heavy flooding throughout the city.
Johnston, located at 10410 Manhattan Dr., will be used to shelter up to 300 residents from the Meyerland area in the school cafeteria and auditorium spaces. M.C. Williams, located at 6100 Knox Street, will be used to assist 300 Acres Homes area residents in the school cafeteria and auditorium.
HISD Nutrition Services will provide water, food, and non-perishable food items at both campuses. HISD Police also will be on site.
Additionally, HISD has responded to the mayor’s request to provide water and food to North Houston residents at the city’s disaster center in Greenspoint.
“HISD is committed to collaborating with the city in this time of need by transforming two of our schools into emergency shelters for students, families, and the elderly,” said HISD Interim Superintendent Ken Huewitt, who is visiting both Johnston and M.C. Williams today. “This is our way of providing help to the communities we serve every day because we truly care about the safety and well-being of our students and their families.”
HISD schools and district offices were closed today – Monday, April 18 – due to the storms.
A few schools have experienced water damage and flooding as a result of the storm. As of Monday afternoon, Liberty High School is the only campus that is scheduled to be closed Tuesday due to storm damage. Students from Liberty will be moved to another campus while district crews work on repairs to the building. The district is still working to identify a host campus for Liberty students and will notify students and parents directly. HISD officials will continue to monitor weather conditions throughout the night to determine if schools and offices will reopen on Tuesday.
For additional updates, please visit www.houstonisd.org, or call the HISD Inclement Weather Hotline at 713-267-1704. You can sign up for HISD text message alerts to receive updates on school weather conditions by texting YES to 68453. You also can follow the district on Twitter and Facebook: twitter.com/houstonisd and facebook.com/houstonisd.