Students return to Blanchard this week

Students return to classes Monday at Blanchard Elementary after being out of the building due to a fire that damaged the school at the start of December.

Cape Girardeau School District superintendent Dr. Jim Welker said regular bus routes and schedules will resume.

School staff and district officials spent the end of last week moving furniture and other items needed back into the school, and Welker said some teachers are working over the weekend to finish readying their classrooms. A few rooms damaged by the fire won't be completely ready for use because workers are still restoring walls, Welker said, but none of those rooms are classrooms.

Since Dec. 8, classes for Blanchard students were held at Lynwood Baptist Church. The cause of the fire remains undetermined. It began around 8 p.m. Dec. 6 in a teacher workroom and damaged the workroom, two adjoining rooms and adjoining hallways. The district chose to hold classes at the church because it had enough available space for classes, a kitchen and cafeteria and other amenities. The church allowed use of the facility at no charge to the school district.

Pertinent address:

1829 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO

2935 Lynwood Hills Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO