COVINGTON, Tenn. — As the rest of the Mid-South continue to return to the classroom, in Covington, Crestview students are returning to their home away from home.
A deadly EF-3 tornado destroyed both Crestview Elementary and Middle Schools in March 2023. Luckily no one was hurt after the district erred on the side of caution by dismissing schools early, sparing the lives of 250 people. However, those students did not have a school, and a new school year was quickly approaching.
“This happened in March," said Stephanie Byrd, who's family went to Crestview, "They did not start those structures until a month and a half, two months before schools started, and we are sitting here going, ‘What are our kids going to do? This is not going to be ready in time.'”
But it was a dedication unlike any other, according to Tipton County Schools.
“ServiceMaster was able to hit a deadline that no one believed was possible, and they actually beat it by four days,” said Hunter Bennett, Tipton County Schools Maintenance Supervisor.
Both schools opened up in August, just in time for the start of the 2023-24 school year. The district now hopes the 2024-25 will be the students last in Cobb Parr Park at the temporary schools. A new combined school is being constructed in the same spot as the former Crestview Schools.
A virtual tour can be seen here:
“I know it’s been hard. The parents, and the students, and the faculty have been so patient,” said Dr. John Combs, Tipton County Schools Superintendent, “What I want to say more than anything, thank you for being patient, because the end is coming and it’s going to look nice.”
Combs tells ABC24, the district hopes to open the combined Covington Elementary and Middle School just in time for the 2025-26 school year.
