Aside from a minor leg injury, employees of the private, non-profit organization, emerged unhurt as well, according to CEO Joan Kagan.
Fallon Barnes, a teacher at the Square One day-care center in downtown Springfield works with Kyla Davis 5 , left, and her sister Jazmyn, 4, all of whom were among the students and staff who found themselves in the middle of a tornado last week. They are are seen here Tuesday at the New Beginnings location at 721 State St.SPRINGFIELD – Although Square One lost its corporate offices and one of its four daycare centers Wednesday afternoon as a tornado blasted through the South End of Springfield, the 50 or so young children who were there emerged without a scratch.
“That was miraculous,” said Joan Kagan, president and chief executive officer of Square One, which has provided early education and child-care support to working families in Western Massachusetts for more than 128 years. “There wasn’t a scratch on a child.”
Aside from a minor leg injury, employees of the private, non-profit organization, emerged unscathed as well, Kagan said.
The miraculous was followed by the serendipitous, as an empty school bus that just happened to be driving in front of Square One when the tornado hit, ferried the children to safety at the MassMutual Center, Kagan said.
The sheer determination of staffers and various members of the community that followed, allowed Square One to resume its services, at various locations throughout the city and county, on Monday.
“Closing was never an option,” said Kimberly A. Lee, vice president for advancement at Square One.
Square One now needs the community, which it has so long served, to help it rise from the wreckage.
“We will rebuild,” said Kagan. “We plan on being here for another 128 years and we are very committed to Springfield, to staying in Springfield and serving children and families in our community.”
Square One serves about 1,200 children in Hampden County every day with early education and child care programs and another 200 families through outreach social programs, Kagan said.
David Geld, a program coordinator, said he was in his office on the third floor of 947 Main when the twister hit.
“I heard sounds,” Geld said. “I turned around and saw the tornado come in through my window. Basically, bricks started falling on my head and hit me on the shoulder and I was just barely able to get out of my office.”
Children, ranging in age from just a few months to 5 years, accompanied by staffers, were on the first floor and heading towards the basement when the tornado hit, Geld said.
Geld said that some of the children were hysterical but the teachers “were very strong,” and reassuring the kids that everything would be OK.”
Geld joined them on the way down to the basement, but the smell of natural gas down there prompted them to evacuate the building.
Kagan, meanwhile sought shelter with 16 others staff members in the basement at 959 Main St.
Kagan said she and the others emerged to a “topsy-turvy” world. The fourth floor at 947 Main St. had been sheared off and fallen bricks and trees were everywhere.”
Kagan said she and staff members ran over to the day-care center next door and led the children to the safety of the basement at 959 Main St..
That’s when the school bus appeared at Hubbard and Main streets. Kagan said the driver, enroute to somewhere else, was just idling there, waiting for some of the debris to be cleared.
“It was serendipitous that it came and it was empty,” she said.
Staffers who went through the trauma of the tornado received a special debriefing session Tuesday with employee assistance personnel and will begin special training next week to help them recognizance and deal with the trauma that their young charges might be dealing with.
“We noticed that a lot of the children were having trouble separating from their parents and parents were having a difficult time separating from their children on Monday morning,” Kagan said.
Children who went through the horrifying experience of the tornadoes may regress a bit, Kagan said, adding that toilet-trained children may start wetting their bed again, finicky eaters may become even more so and others may have difficult sleeping at night.
“The thing is not to get alarmed about it, but to understand it and be reassuring,” Kagan said.
The search is on now, however, for a new permanent home, Kagan said, adding that options include rebuilding at the South End site.
The best way help Square One, Kagan said, is monetary contributions. Losses at the facility include playground equipment, filing cabinets, computers and two of its eight vans, valued at upwards of $30,000 apiece, she said.
Fortunately, Kagan said, Square One has a very good data recovery plan and fiscal and other records remain intact.
Checks may be sent to Square One, 947 Main St., Springfield, 01103. Donations can also be made through PayPal at Square One website.
“As they say, we are starting at square one,” Geld said.