Partial roof collapse closes Cochrane school for week

A partial roof collapse at Aileen Wright English Catholic School in Cochrane due to heavy snow has closed the school for the week.

Aileen Wright English Catholic School in Cochrane, Ont., will remain closed for the rest of the week after a partial roof collapse over the weekend caused by heavy snow accumulation and significant precipitation, the Northeastern Catholic District School Board said Monday.

The board’s director of education, Tricia Weltz, initially announced the school would be closed on Monday in a social media post on the school’s Facebook Page on Sunday night.

The board says contractors, school board staff and utility partners have been onsite assessing the situation.

Structural evaluation pending

“The board is currently awaiting a full structural safety evaluation from engineers, which is expected to take place later this week,” the board said in a news release.

School board officials said the decision to keep the school closed and ensure the safety of all students and staff was made “out of an abundance of caution.”

“There is visible damage to the building; however, we are very grateful that no one was injured as a result of this incident,” said Tricia Weltz, the board’s director of education.

Next steps uncertain

Following the engineering assessment, the board will determine next steps, including whether portions of the school can safely reopen for in-person learning or if a temporary transition to virtual learning will be required.

“Updates will be shared with families and the community as more information becomes available,” said the board.

The Northeastern Catholic District School Board is directing parents, families or anyone else concerned or looking more information about the closure to reach out the its community relations officer, Andrew Marks at [e-mail].