Hilliard ES home at last after being displaced by Harvey

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Hilliard Elementary School has officially moved back to their home campus this week, after being relocated last fall due to flood damage resulting from Hurricane Harvey.

The school — including all classrooms, the library, and the gym — has been completely restored, as have the campus grounds. Additionally, a new retention pond and extensive storm drainage system have been added to prevent future flooding.

Newly appointed Principal Erika Kimble said she is glad to be a part of Hilliard’s new beginning, and is looking forward to working in the renovated building.

“I’m excited about joining the Hilliard family,” Kimble said. “We’ll all get a fresh start together in this beautiful building. I can’t wait to welcome the students back in August.”

Hilliard students and staff spent the past year at the former Fonwood Early Childhood Center, where they relocated last September to allow crews time to overhaul their flood-damaged campus. With water rising as high as four feet during the storm, crews had to remove and replace all porous surfaces below the water line, including cabinets, wood surfaces, vinyl floor tiles, and gym flooring and impact pads.

The building has since been professionally cleaned and sanitized and undergone extensive inspections to ensure it is safe and ready to welcome students and staff. The school also received all new furniture, classroom supplies, and education materials.

Volunteers came together earlier this year to landscape the grounds with more than 300 trees and 3,000 plants and build outdoor learning spaces for students to begin using this fall.

Follow @Build_HISD on Twitter for the latest construction updates on the 2012 Bond Program and school construction across the district.