WACO, Texas — Students and staff from G.W. Carver Middle School will move to Indian Spring Middle School following an early morning fire that destroyed G.W. Carver, Waco ISD announced Tuesday afternoon.
The students and staff moving to Indian Spring Middle School will be there until a new Carver campus is built, the district said. In the coming days, the district and Transformation Waco will work through the details of the move as the school year is set to begin next month.
“I want to reassure everyone that while we’re coping with the loss of our historic campus, we’ll press forward,” said Dr. Isaac Carrier, G.W. Carver principal. “Panthers take care of each other, and Panthers take care of our business day in and day out. G.W. Carver Middle School is more than a building. It’s the people, and it’s the legacy that they carry with them each day. We will heal and thrive together. This coming school year will be different than we expected, but it can and will still be a great year.”
The Indian Spring campus has space for more than 900 students, but is only enrolling just over 500 for the coming school year. Meanwhile, G.W. Carver is projected to enroll about 460 students.
“Our campus has plenty of space for both Bulldogs and Panthers. While we share the sadness that comes with the loss of a historic school building, we want our neighbors to know that they are welcome here. The team at Indian Spring Middle School will work every day to make sure that everyone has a great school year,” Indian Spring principal Joseph Alexander said.
More information on the move will be shared with families and employees as it becomes available, the district said.
Transformation Waco and the school district are arranging counseling services for G.W. Carver students and employees as well as community members who want to talk with someone about the fire. Counseling services will be available on July 28 and July 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Estella Maxey Place Apartments, located at 1809 JJ Flewellen Rd. in Waco.
G.W. Carver families can visit Indian Spring, or any other Waco ISD campus this week for help registering their children for the coming school year. Registration help will be available at Carver Baptist Park on July 29 and July 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Online registration is also available.
“Please know that our minds and hearts are with our Carver family and the East Waco community, as we process the loss from this morning’s fire,” said Dr. Robin McDurham, Transformation Waco’s chief executive officer. “While we haven’t worked out all of the details yet, we know that G.W. Carver students will have a welcoming place to learn at Indian Spring."
Anyone interested in helping out can donate gift cards to Transformation Waco to help teachers replace classroom supplies and other items lost in the fire. Gift cards from Walmart, Target or H-E-B can be mailed or dropped off at Transformation Waco's office, located at 3005 Edna Ave. Electronic gift cards can be emailed to transformationwaco@wacoisd.org.
The first day of the 2021-2022 school year in Waco ISD is Aug. 23. All students will be learning in-person this year.