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Spring Valley Academy reopens 11 months after fire

Photos: Fire at Spring Valley Academy

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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer Updated 6:51 PM Saturday, August 22, 2009

WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County — The gym is still closed, and some of the new office furniture hasn’t arrived, but Spring Valley Academy will again host students, who spent nearly a year in another school building after a electrical fire in September 2008 that caused millions of dollars in damage.

The nearly 300 students at the K-12, Seventh-day Adventist Church-affiliated school are scheduled to start classes Monday, Aug. 24, in the building at 1461 E. Spring Valley Road, that was gutted by flames and smoke.

Those affiliated with the school who completed the 2008-09 school year at the former Ridgeville Christian School say they are relieved to re-enter the 41-year-old building that has housed the tight-knit school and its community.

“We can’t believe it,” said Vicki Swetnam, the school’s recruiting and marketing manager. “We’re all pinching ourselves.”

The fire on the evening of Sept. 8 left the building inhabitable.

The school’s board of trustees worked frantically to secure the building, form a plan for educating the students and work out the rebuilding details.

Much of the building’s exterior is the same, but the interior has been redone to include technological updates in each classroom. Students have even noted the changes.

“I took my son and daughter there for the first time last week,” said Wayne Whitmill, a school trustee member and chairman of the campus management committee.

“The first thing my daughter (a third-grader) noticed was the new signs on each classroom. They’re noticing all of the new things,” he said.

Faculty and staff were first allowed to enter the building on Wednesday, so teachers spent the rest of the week busily readying their classrooms for the students.

“In spite of the fire, there has been a blessing,” Swetnam said. “We’ve returned to an improved facility.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel @DaytonDailyNews.com.