Albright College is a private liberal arts school in Reading.
Albright College
Berks students who lost school in flood find new classroom at Albright College
Hundreds of students were displaced after floodwaters destroyed Antietam Middle Senior High School.
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Gabriela Martínez/WITF
Albright College
Albright College is a private liberal arts school in Reading.
The Antietam School District in Berks County, which lost one of its school buildings to a flash flood in July, is relocating its entire 6th grade – 85 students – to Albright College’s campus in Reading.
The college will provide four classrooms, as well as access to art studios, science and computer laboratories, libraries and athletic facilities. Antietam students begin their school year on Aug. 21.
Albright aims to do more than just provide a space. Part of the larger goal is to expose K-12 students to higher education learning and provide a more immersive education experience, said Jacquelyn Fetrow, the college’s president.
The students will be taught by Antietam teachers who will work side-by-side with Albright facilitators trained in the college’s Total Experience Learning approach, which emphasizes research-based learning in all disciplines and learning plans tailored to students’ individual strengths and abilities.
“It flips education on its head because we’re no longer just kind of feeding facts and doing repetition with students. We are engaging students to be creative, to follow what interests them, but at the same time, achieve the Pennsylvania Department of Ed standards that they need to achieve,” Fetrow said.
Albright College
Jacquelyn Fetrow, president and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Albright College.
Albright College offers K-12 summer and after-school programs through its Total Experience Learning Program, and has hosted Reading School District students on its campus in the past.
Heidi Rochlin, Antietam School District superintendent, sees a silver lining in the partnership, despite it being born out of a disaster response.
“We are a poor, minority-majority district. A lot of our kids have never seen the resources available on the college campus,” she said. “And they’re gonna get to see that in sixth grade, which is just amazing.”
Albright and the district have discussed the possibility of expanding the partnership and housing more students at the campus next year, depending on what space might be available.
A major flood hit the Antietam Middle Senior High building on July 9 when the nearby Antietam Creek swelled over its banks and rushed through Lower Alsace Township.
“The damage was extensive,” Rochlin said. “We had a river running through the building at one point because the creek diverted itself away from its creek bed and through the building, because of all of the debris that had fallen in there.”
The flood took out the entire first floor, including 14 classrooms, Rochlin said. The water breached the basement, destroying boilers, switchgears and other crucial electronic equipment. Storage containers set up outside the school for summer maintenance were picked up by the water and crashed into the building, causing additional structural damage.
Rochlin said the building will be out of order for at least a year, and it is not clear whether it can be used again. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency are assessing the damage. Based on the final estimate, the district will determine whether it is better to repair the school, or rebuild in the same location or a different one.
According to the district’s assessment, it would cost about $21.5 million dollars to cover repairs.
“Even if we had 21 and a half million dollars to start fixing up the school, because of supply chain issues and very specialized equipment, we’re at least a year out and getting those things,” Rochlin said.
Antietam School District is a small district made up of three buildings. Antietam Middle Senior High housed 600 students in grades 7 through 12. Most of the students – except the 85 headed to Albright – will take classes at the other district buildings and at a local church that offered temporary classroom space. In total, the district has around 1,200 students, Rochlin said.
The district is considered low-income and underfunded, according to the state’s poverty thresholds. About 70% of the students are Latino and 30% are White.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
