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Harmony Heights School in East Norwich, damaged by fire in 2023, is back to full strength

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Harmony Heights School in East Norwich, damaged by fire in 2023, is back to full strength

Officials at a therapeutic day school for girls said their building in East Norwich has been fully operational for almost a year and a half after a fire destroyed the building, causing serious damage and displacing its administration.

Teachers at Harmony Heights Residential and Day School said the front portion of their Walnut Avenue building was heavily damaged in the May 2023 fire. About 70 firefighters from several departments responded to the overnight blaze before bringing it under control in about an hour had. Newsday reports this.

The fire severely damaged countless offices and student spaces. The hallways and classrooms were filled with ash and the graduation photos hanging on the walls were burned.

School officials said the portion of the school that houses administrative offices, counseling and therapeutic facilities, as well as the gymnasium and other services, “suffered significant damage that will cost more than $3 million to repair.”

“We were supposed to have our prom next week,” recalls Kathryn Nastri, principal emeritus of the school.

She recalled having to take items out of the building “hours after the fire broke out to air them out on the front lawn so hopefully we could still use them.”

Theresa Cherba, the school’s human resources director, said the fire started near the front door of the school, in an area where students go when they need to regroup. She said the cause of the fire was unfounded.

Students and staff went remote for the rest of the school year and during a six-week summer course.

They returned to the building for the next school year, but administrators, therapists and other staff worked out of three trailers in the parking lot while the front of the building was renovated, officials said.

“We lost students because we had to live remotely for a while,” says the school’s director, Tatiana Pejkovic. “It definitely had a big impact on our staff’s stress levels.”

The school has a capacity for 80 students. At the time of the fire, there were about 65 students enrolled, but now there are about 56, Cherba said. The school serves girls in grades 8 through 12 who are emotionally disturbed or have other health problems, according to the school’s website. Tuition is often paid by the student’s home school district, which refers the student to Harmony Heights.

Pejkovic said employees and students were constantly going in and out of the building and trailers for therapy sessions and other work in all weather conditions. She said she even worked in the hallways sometimes.

“It felt absolutely disjointed. We’re so used to being together as a community,” she said.

But, Pejkovic added, “being all together again is such a different atmosphere than the last year and a half.”

While the fire was a tragedy, it was also a blessing in disguise, Cherba said.

This allowed them to update several areas of the building, including improvements to the lighting, security system and several other rooms. The new gymnasium was one of the last spaces to open this month.

The upgrades come just as the nonprofit opened its doors 50 years ago.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” Cherba said. “We have a beautiful, brand new building ready to accommodate students who need our service.”

Officials at a therapeutic day school for girls said their building in East Norwich has been fully operational for almost a year and a half after a fire destroyed the building, causing serious damage and displacing its administration.

Teachers at Harmony Heights Residential and Day School said the front portion of their Walnut Avenue building was heavily damaged in the May 2023 fire. About 70 firefighters from several departments responded to the overnight blaze before bringing it under control in about an hour had. Newsday reports this.

The fire severely damaged countless offices and student spaces. The hallways and classrooms were filled with ash and the graduation photos hanging on the walls were burned.

School officials said the portion of the school that houses administrative offices, counseling and therapeutic facilities, as well as the gymnasium and other services, “suffered significant damage that will cost more than $3 million to repair.”

“We were supposed to have our prom next week,” recalls Kathryn Nastri, principal emeritus of the school.

She recalled having to take items out of the building “hours after the fire broke out to air them out on the front lawn so hopefully we could still use them.”

Theresa Cherba, the school’s human resources director, said the fire started near the front door of the school, in an area where students go when they need to regroup. She said the cause of the fire was unfounded.

Students and staff went remote for the rest of the school year and during a six-week summer course.

They returned to the building for the next school year, but administrators, therapists and other staff worked out of three trailers in the parking lot while the front of the building was renovated, officials said.

“We lost students because we had to live remotely for a while,” says the school’s director, Tatiana Pejkovic. “It definitely had a big impact on our staff’s stress levels.”

The school has a capacity for 80 students. At the time of the fire, there were about 65 students enrolled, but now there are about 56, Cherba said. The school serves girls in grades 8 through 12 who are emotionally disturbed or have other health problems, according to the school’s website. Tuition is often paid by the student’s home school district, which refers the student to Harmony Heights.

Pejkovic said employees and students were constantly going in and out of the building and trailers for therapy sessions and other work in all weather conditions. She said she even worked in the hallways sometimes.

“It felt absolutely disjointed. We’re so used to being together as a community,” she said.

But, Pejkovic added, “being all together again is such a different atmosphere than the last year and a half.”

While the fire was a tragedy, it was also a blessing in disguise, Cherba said.

This allowed them to update several areas of the building, including improvements to the lighting, security system and several other rooms. The new gymnasium was one of the last spaces to open this month.

The upgrades come just as the nonprofit opened its doors 50 years ago.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” Cherba said. “We have a beautiful, brand new building ready to accommodate students who need our service.”

Darwin Yanes is a graduate of Long Islander and Stony Brook University and is attending college. He had previously covered the town of North Hempstead.