BACK-TO-SCHOOL: Oakdale Elementary students return to new school after 2017 fire

OAKDALE, La. (KPLC) - Elementary school students in Oakdale felt extra excitement Friday morning as they began their first day at a brand new school.

It was May 31, 2017, when a fire destroyed 80 percent of Oakdale Elementary. The school was uprooted and the students were separated.

“Two years we were separated with part of our grades at one school, part of our grades here," said Ann Monroe, the school’s principal said.

Whether to rebuild the school was never a question.

“The day it was burnt, we sat down and said we want to rebuild a school, as good or better than the one that they had," said Kent Green, Allen Parish superintendent of schools. "And I think we exceeded those expectations.”

Students and teachers alike are happy to be back.

“We’re so excited about our new classrooms and all the opportunity we feel we’re going to have here, so it’s just been a great summer," said one teacher.

The rebuild includes new technology, a new gym, library and individual classrooms.

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