After Ruinous Fire, Takoma Educational Center Students Start 2011 in New Site
January 4, 2011
 One week ago, the Takoma Educational Center's new home had no heat, running water or kitchen facilities to feed its 328 students. Asbestos lurked in spots, and 48 classrooms needed to be cleaned, painted, furnished and decorated for grades pre-K through eight.
The good news was that the former Meyer Elementary School, at 11th and Euclid Streets NW, which closed in June 2008, was still a building with "solid bones," said Anthony DeGuzman, director of the D.C. school facilities office.
District officials were left scrambling over the holidays for a new facility after a three-alarm fire Dec. 22 caused $2 million worth of damage to the second and third floors of Takoma's building at Piney Branch Road NW. Students and staff were on vacation, but the fire, caused by a roofing contractor's blowtorch, left the structure uninhabitable for at least the rest of the school year.
It took a remarkable effort to restore Meyer, but the school opened on time Monday morning for Takoma students.
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