School Pride (2010) s01e03 Episode Script
Rising From The Flood
Tonight on School Pride Our mission to restore pride and achievement to America's schools takes us to a small town that was devastated by a huge flood.
It's the worst flood in modern history.
The river rose 13 feet and destroyed Kingston Springs elementary school.
It was flooded with all this nasty water, and it's polluted all over the place.
It will take a long time to clean this up.
It's taken a while to absorb the fact that 36 years is gone.
We've got just seven days to get Kingston Springs ready for the new school year.
Is anybody a little overwhelmed? Yes, there is so much to do.
But to bring this school back to life, we'll need the help of everyone, from the youngest volunteers to the biggest country superstars.
Can this school rise from the flood? School is in! Four individuals from different walks of life have come together to help communities renovate their schools.
Are you ready? Susie castillo.
Designer and former miss usa.
It's a proven fact that when children have a better learning environment, like what we're giving them, test scores skyrocket, and they get better grades.
Jacob soboroff, political journalist, determined to find out why so many of our schools are on the brink of collapse.
I think that education in America is broken.
No teacher or no student should feel like their school is a prison.
Kym whitley.
Comedian, and former teacher.
If you can give a child a great beginning, they could become anything.
And me, Tom stroup.
Team leader, and SWAT commander.
We're basically community organizers.
It's about going to a community and helping the community help themselves.
This week we're headed to Kingston Springs elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Hi, my name is Wyatt, and I'm a fourth grader at Kingston Springs elementary school.
Hi, my name is Liam, and I'm a fourth grader at Kingston Springs elementary school.
This is our school.
We have a river close to it.
It's called the harpeth river.
And it may seem like a calm river, but it flooded our school.
It's still standing, but it's not pretty.
And inside it was flooded with all this nasty water, and it's polluted all over the place.
It will take a long time to clean this up.
Kingston Springs elementary was completely underwater, almost up to the tops of the doors.
Everything was completely devastated.
We have to start over.
But it's gonna take a lot of work.
We have a good community, but we're gonna need help.
School is out of session because of the flood.
It's really dangerous, and there's a sign outside that says we can't even go in.
The teachers, they can't go back to work.
They can't go back to the classroom.
They can't even go back inside the school.
Teaching's my life.
I was there, day and night.
The children had just been devastated.
They're all ready to come back to school.
And if the kids don't get to start, I don't know what we're gonna do.
It's taken a while to actually, um Just absorb the fact that 36 years, basically, is gone.
We really love our teachers, and they love us.
We want to go back to school so we can have an education when we grow up.
Yes, an education is very important.
But our spirit is down now, because we don't have a school.
It's so important to help fix this school.
Because of Wyatt and Liam, they need this place.
They need to learn and enjoy their young lives.
Thank you, nbc.
We hope to see you soon.
Bye.
We're in Tennessee.
We're going to Kingston Springs elementary school.
This is really where you're going to see the damage from the flood.
Kingston Springs had a flood, and it devastated not just that school, but the entire region.
One whole year's worth of rain in two days.
Oh, look.
WowDevastation.
I look out of the car, and I just see destruction.
Bridges, houses, trees, cars.
It's a mess.
- Oh, look.
- Look at this.
Oh, my God.
We're on our way to the school, and I was not ready for what I saw.
These were riverfront homes that were totally washed off their foundations.
That is very sad.
This is surreal.
It's the worst flood in modern history.
Do you see this road? Look at this house, down here.
- What? - Oh, stop! This isn't just bureaucracy or bad school facilities.
This is a natural disaster.
These kids are actually in a middle school.
They've been relocated, 'cause their school is actually unsafe to be in.
So we're not going to actually go to the elementary school right now.
We gotta go make the announcement at the middle school where they're at.
- Let's do this.
- Yes.
We're gonna rebuild Kingston Springs elementary.
School pride is coming to town! Whoo! - All right.
- You all right? - Yeah, I'm okay.
- Line it up right here! - What up, Kingston Springs? - Bring it on in! Keep coming! Wow, this is amazing.
Kingston Springs! Kingston Springs! Kingston Springs, Kingston Springs! We're the school pride team, and we are here to help you rebuild your school.
Where is Liam? Good.
Where's Wyatt? All right.
Thank you, guys! We got your tape and because of you two, we are here to help you rebuild Kingston Springs elementary school.
We are here to give you new memories.
We are here to give you new supplies.
We are here to restore the hope in Kingston Springs.
How many of you are going to help us make over Kingston Springs elementary? We have seven days to rebuild this school.
Are you ready to start this clock? Yeah! Let's count it down.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Start the clock! Let's go.
Let's go, let's go! This is gonna be awesome! You gonna help us fix it up? Oh, yeah! I got helping hands here, and they're ready to work.
Normally, the first step we take is to empty out the entire school.
But the damage was so extensive that a restoration crew has been doing all the heavy lifting ever since the flood.
Jacob.
Russ dailey, with belfor usa.
Ah, so you're with belfor.
I am.
So you're the guy putting this all together, making sure this all goes smoothly.
Belfor is a company that cleans up immediately after disasters in major situations that have large-scale messes.
Before any work can be done, they have to clean up the mess that the storm left.
We had 80 30-yard dumpsters removed from this building alone.
Wow.
80 30-yard dumpsters.
There was probably several dumpsters' worth of personal items that the teachers had brought in that got thrown away.
This is different than any school we've ever done before because we are completely rebuilding the inside of this school from the ground up.
We got a lot of work to do here.
And a very short time to do it.
- Oh, wow.
- Wow.
It feels so empty, like this isn't even our school anymore.
I feel really sad, because this was a really good school.
And I just hate to see everything just gone.
- Wow.
- Where's the books? I just can't believe all this.
Yeah, I mean, where's all the books? When I saw the school, it made me think about all the memories that we had in there and all of the teachers and what they have lost.
It's just a terrible tragedy.
It was very, very overwhelming.
I can't wait to see what next school year's gonna be like.
You're about to show me around, I hope.
I'm gonna show you around I haven't been in there, so Wait, you have not been in the school? I have not been in the school since I left.
Since you were in the school.
Yeah, since I was in the school getting rescued.
During the flood, my husband and I had gone back in to unplug all the computers and to set tables and chairs up so they would not get any wetter.
We couldn't get out.
The water was higher outside than it was inside.
The dumpster was floating by at that time.
We had no idea the water had come up that fast from the river.
The water just kept coming in the doors, and about the time it got to my waist, we decided we needed to go up on the roof to keep from drowning.
Now, where's the water on the stairs? Is it in yet? Yes, it's up to here.
- So the water's right here.
- The water's at least to here.
So you had to push this open.
Had to push it open.
Ms.
candy is very brave.
She came back during the flood just trying to save something for the school.
So that's covered in water.
Yes.
It just kept flooding.
The fire department came over, and the Captain He was one of my students And he said, "we're gonna get you down.
" Ms.
candy has a spirit and determination of a giant.
She is the pillar of strength for the community.
And I want to make sure she gets everything back.
This is my room.
We're here today because this is actually the first day that you can get back into this school.
It's been condemned.
So I grabbed Ms.
olszak and I took her straight to her classroom.
Wow.
Oh, gosh.
Yep.
It's sad.
It was a great room.
I had books up here, and I had little reading chairs, and everything was color-coordinated.
We had personal things in here.
Books your children have given you, gifts They're irreplaceable.
You never can imagine that your classroom can be wiped out.
It's just unfathomable.
We couldn't salvage anything.
Ms.
olszak's reaction to seeing her room for the first time was overwhelming and she could hardly stand to be in there.
We'll take the memories that you've got and we'll do what we can with those and make some new memories this week how about that? And we'll have a whole new room for you.
That'll be great.
The clock is ticking, and we still have work to do, so what are you guys thinking? I think maybe one of the big things that we should do is give these kids the supplies that they lost.
- Yes.
- And maybe some new things that they can build new memories with, you know? Because obviously all their memories washed away.
Is anybody a little overwhelmed? Yes! There is so much to do.
It's crazy.
It is crazy.
We have to get done in seven days what would normally take one year.
This week we are rebuilding an entire school.
A project this big would have taken years to get done.
It's likely these kids would have been stuck in portables someplace.
I want to get the teachers and the students back in their classroom.
The library, I'd like to go in the library.
Every book in there Gone.
- Yeah.
- Without exception.
Nothing left behind.
I want to spend some time with Ms.
olszak, because she thinks she lost everything.
She lost her whole life.
And we're never gonna replace what they lost here at Kingston Springs.
But hopefully we can create some new memories for them.
Absolutely.
What I really want to do is I want to focus on Ms.
candy.
You know, I really bonded with her.
She took a risk going up on that roof to get those computers.
Speaking of computers, I want to take over the computer room.
The teachers lost everything.
I mean, they lost all of their resources.
So I want to make sure that they get all of their supplies back, everything they lost, and so much more.
This is gonna be emotional, though.
This is the biggest project that we've done yet.
And we've got seven days to do it.
All right, let's do this.
How's it going? Good to see you all.
Thanks for coming in.
Okay, volunteers, what are we doing in here? We're ready to go.
We are getting volunteers in record numbers.
All right, y'all, keep up the good work.
Just to think that these are people in this community who have gone through this flood.
But they are showing up.
It makes you want to be a part of this community.
Hey, everybody.
- Hey! - Hi, how are you? Hi! - Hi, Ms.
candy! - How are you? You know, this is great.
You see all the volunteers? Yes, I do, and, I mean, it's just awesome to know that they came to help us.
I mean, 'cause there's nothing in there.
Being there at the registration table, I was so overwhelmed by all the help that they wanted to do for us.
And it just kept pouring in.
I mean, it was like the flood coming again.
But it was with people to rebuild our school.
Do you have a lot of kids, here? - I have eight children.
- You have eight children? That went to school here.
They all went to school here.
- Yes.
- What do you need? What do I need? I need things just to start teaching.
I need desks, I need chairs, I need a white board.
Every month I study a country, amd so I need maps and pictures of around the world, and I need permanent markers, 'cause I write happy faces on their hands and things like that, so they can go home and show mom, "look, thumbs up, mom.
I did good.
" You write on the kid's hands? Yeah, I write little happy faces.
Little happy faces on Could you put one on my hand? Yes, I'll put one on your hand.
This week is about rebuilding, replacing, reenergizing the place.
Thumbs up, Ms.
candy! Yes! I was good today.
I like that.
Did you just do your snort? Yes.
I'm so sorry.
I'm sorry! Liam, you having fun so far? Yes.
Why was it so important to you that you send in that tape and that we be here to fix your school? Well, school is like a second home to me.
I learned most of the stuff that I already know, I learned here.
Liam is a really sweet kid, you know? And I feel like he's had to grow up as soon as the flood happened.
So Liam, I heard that you lost your book bag when the flood happened? Yes, I did.
I left it over weekend, so I had all my textbooks, my workbooks, and a crayon box, and all kinds of other stuff in there.
- Really? - Mm-hmm.
Oh, man.
Liam, I have to tell you that I am really proud of you, young man, because, look around, look at all these people.
You psyched about it, or what? I'm excited.
It it's gonna be awesome.
I think so too.
So how's your week going? It's going pretty cool.
Yeah? What do you think of all these volunteers? I think that this is just wonderful.
As I talk to Wyatt, I learn more and more about why he cares so much about this school.
This is a young man that wants to go to school.
And that flood took all that away from him.
So we're gonna give it back to him.
This community was already a great place to live.
It's too bad that something like this had to happen, but I think we'll turn it into a good thing, don't you? Yeah.
Everything so far is just wonderful.
It is so cool that all these people are coming to help Kingston Springs.
I really do love my community.
Are you ready for the big The big reveal day? - I am.
- It's gonna be an exciting day.
Two months ago, these kids lost everything in this flood.
I mean, they lost their backpacks, they lost supplies, but they're getting everything back this week.
Come on in! Aah! Hi, Liam and Wyatt! Gather around.
Gather around! I'm working with Walmart.
They decided they're gonna step in and they're gonna donate all kinds of school supplies Notebooks, pens, new sneakers T-shirts, jeans for school.
Everything that the kids lost in the flood a month and a half ago, they're getting back.
- Are you guys psyched? - Yeah! I wasn't expecting this.
This is super-awesome.
You like these? Well, there you go, sweetie.
You're the manager of the local Walmart, right? Right.
And what happened to your store during the flood? We were completely flooded.
How's your store doing now? Is it back on its feet? We're almost done.
That's why we're all here to give back.
There you go.
So many of her friends have been through so much.
To see everybody come together to help Walmart donated, and it's just wonderful.
Thank you, Walmart! Hey, Ms.
o.
Welcome back.
Hello.
- How are ya? - Well A little nervous.
I hadn't seen Ms.
olszak since we walked through her room that was flooded out.
I wanna figure out where she had been.
What have you been up to? Why haven't we seen you around here? It's been kinda difficult to come over here.
It's immediately evident to me that this is a woman who is broken, who is hurting inside.
Why did you not want to come back? Was it because you lost so many memories in the flood? It was very painful.
It's still painful.
We couldn't salvage one thing out of that room.
So it is traumatic.
I get up in the morning It's like I can't do it.
I've lost hope because my classroom is gone.
Where do we go from here? Do you stay, do you not stay? Do you rebuild, do you move on? Ms.
olszak has got these memories of this classroom that was flooded away etched into her mind, and she can't let go.
I wanna help her regain that hope.
Have you driven by the outside since we've started? Every single day, hundreds and hundreds of people are all here.
They're all here for you.
It is unbelievable.
What a lesson these little people have already received in kindness, in generosity.
This is the blessing behind the tragedy.
It is unbelievable.
Listen, I know it's hard for you to be here.
I'm not gonna make you go inside, but I need you to make me one promise.
When we cut that red ribbon for your new school, I need you to be here and let me take you into your classroom.
Make me the promise.
You promise? Yes, I will.
Come about another inch, guys.
Right there, perfect.
In the immediate aftermath of the storm, it fell on the local community to rescue themselves.
I heard about Katie and Amy, the two sisters that run the red tree coffee who had a huge, huge role in the disaster response immediately after the floods.
So I hopped in the car, and I headed there.
Onstar center.
This is Kathleen.
I'm looking for turn by turn directions to the red tree coffee.
Directions are now being sent to your vehicle.
Hey, there.
Well, hello.
- How are you doing? - I'm good, how are you? I'm Jacob.
I'm with the school pride team.
We're working at Kingston Springs.
- Katie.
- It's so nice to meet you.
- Hey.
- My sister Amy.
Amy, nice to meet you.
These two ladies are not two ladies you expect to get in charge of 400 volunteers.
They run a tiny little coffee shop.
I keep hearing this place was ground zero.
But what does that even mean? What was going on here? Most everybody's power was out except the coffee shop power.
Except for us.
So we were able to send people messages and say come to red tree if you need help, and within two hours, we had over 100 people here.
Then people started coming in and saying do you know of anybody that needs help? You know, it's frustrating when you feel like you can't help.
So we decided to not feel like we couldn't help.
We decided that we could help.
So it really is a volunteer state.
- It is! - It is, yeah.
- That's exactly right.
- It is a volunteer state.
Even though the flood was horrible and it wrecked so many lives, it has knit this community together.
What does the school What does Kingston Springs elementary mean to this area? It's a special place in my heart because I taught at the school for several years.
And so all of those teachers are my friends that lost all of their stuff.
The more I get to know the people at Kingston Springs, the more I understand that this school is the heart of this community, and rebuilding it is the key to having this community recover from the flood.
Beautiful.
All right, hand those up to me, big man, and I'll stick 'em in here.
Gimme time to get up here and move 'em, all right? - Yep.
- What do you think about what's going on here this week? Well, I've never seen it empty before.
Well, you know what, in four days, it's all gonna be back.
Yep.
I can't wait.
Now, did your house get affected by the flood too? - No, it did not.
- It did not? But some of my teachers like Ms.
Shelton and Ms.
plemons, they lost their homes in the flood.
Are they here today also? Mm-hmm.
They, uh, they're helping out.
So they lost their homes in the flood, and they're still here helping out the school.
- Mm-hmm.
- Wow.
I'd really like to meet them and talk to them.
Wyatt explained to me that two of the teachers at the school, Ms.
plemons and Ms.
Shelton, also lost their homes.
So they not only lost all their personal possessions at school, they lost everything at their home too.
I wanna meet these teachers.
When I found out that the school was flooded, on top of my house being flooded, I thought, well, what am I gonna do with my life? My life has just turned upside down.
There's nothing.
Uh It was just, uh, overwhelming.
What's the biggest lesson from all this for you personally? You know, you wanna help others, but you really have to learn to ask for help, and people will be there to help you.
And just take it a day at a time.
How do you I mean, you're not even back in your homes yet and you're here helping this school.
'Cause we love these kids.
When you sign up to be a teacher, this is your world, this is your life.
And that's why I'm so thankful for you guys to come because I could not have done this.
I could not have done this.
I look at Ms.
plemons and Ms.
Shelton.
Then it hits me.
This is not about the school.
This is about people.
And I have to think of a way to just give them some sort of hope back.
Thank you all for coming.
There's a lot of shopping we have to do for the school.
I love this store, so we're gonna be here a while.
I asked Ms.
plemons and Ms.
Shelton to meet me at home depot.
I told them we were going to buy some more supplies for the school, but I've got a surprise for them.
Ms.
plemons and Ms.
Shelton, I know I told you we were here for the school, and I know you're teachers and you don't like little white lies, but I got you here to surprise you.
Our good friends at the home depot have decided to give each of you $5,000 gift cards to spend at any home depot for you personally to help you put your lives back together.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you.
My heart just dropped when he said $5,000.
I've never had a gift like that in my life.
I can't believe this.
I can't believe this.
I don't know what to say.
I appreciate it so much.
I've been doing a lot of crying lately.
I'm trying to get it under control.
Well, what do you say we go shopping? Okay.
- Oh, wow.
- Yay! I need a microwave.
I want one like this right here.
The help we got from the government only paid for half of our damage.
So for Tom to give us that, it was just such a blessing.
I know you guys need some flooring.
We've got the Martha Stewart living collection.
- Pretty.
- Yeah.
- This is exciting! - I know! I don't know where to begin.
It was an amazing gift.
I'll never forget it as long as I live.
Oh, wow.
Oh, my gosh.
Who's doing a good job today? We are.
Oh, there's my girls! It's day five.
We have to rebuild an elementary school that was hit by one of the worst floods in the history of Tennessee.
Can I see everybody's thumb, please? Does everybody know about Ms.
candy? - Smiley face.
- Smiley face.
Yeah! Instead of giving stars to the kids when they go home, Ms.
candy creates a little face on your thumb.
Thank you.
Good job.
I think it's a great idea to encourage people with the smiley face.
So I'm going to go around to the volunteers and give them a thumbs up Ms.
candy face.
You know Ms.
king? I know candy.
I went to school with candy.
She was a couple grades ahead of me, but I remember when she was doing those cheerleading Success! Ms.
candy used to be a cheerleader? - Yeah! - Yeah.
Oh, you shouldn't have told me that.
Ms.
candy? Okay, do the cheer.
- Ready? - C-c-a-r-d I-n-a-l-s! Kingston cardinals! K-p-b! - Can you do a split? - She can too! Ms.
candy, you cannot do a split! Oh Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute! Ms.
candy says, "I can do the splits," but I don't believe her.
Kingston cardinals.
K-p-b! Wow! Well, Ms.
candy lost everything during the flood, but she didn't lose her spirit.
We're having an emotional time, but we're having a good time.
We're just making the best out of it.
Muah! Aw! Thank you, Ms.
candy! Who all here has had Ms.
olszak as a teacher? What do you think of her as a teacher? Awesome! She's an awesome teacher, huh? Ms.
olszak is very sad.
She's having a hard time dealing with losing all of her stuff.
So what we're gonna do is create new memories for her using all of our creativity and our imagination.
Here's the deal I have a computer program right here called crayola story studio.
And we are gonna take pictures of our faces, and it'll turn us into cartoons.
We're gonna color in the cartoons of ourselves, and we're gonna give 'em back to Ms.
olszak.
Perfect! The final product's gonna be a mural with all these stories of pirates and rock stars and race car drivers, and they're all gonna be Ms.
olszak's former students.
Nobody could ever give Ms.
olszak back the memories that were washed away by the flood, but what we could do is create new memories.
It's one day before the reveal.
These kids haven't been kids all week.
We decide we're gonna send them to a water park for the day.
Attention, students and teachers.
Thank you for all of your hard work.
You are gonna get a day off.
You are going to go to Nashville shores waterpark.
Have fun and cool off.
When you come back, you'll have a brand-new school.
The children were so happy.
They were ecstatic.
They were chasing us.
They were chasing each other.
It was like a load was taken off of them and they could enjoy it.
More fun than In my ever whole life.
Thank you, school pride, for letting us go to Nashville shores.
You guys ready to load some books in the library? Yeah! We have 10,000 books.
Who better to put 'em in there than the High School football team? The coach was there.
The kids were all in line.
10,000 books.
Grab a box and go! All these young men went to this elementary school.
We got 'em in there like that.
It's the night before the big reveal.
I had asked Mr.
Larry, Ms.
candy's husband, to bring me some volunteers.
Great! What do you got goin' on? Okay.
Wow Ooh, wow! All these people come into Ms.
candy's room.
I'm thinking it's just regular people.
Are these strangers? Who are these people? They're just me and candy's kids.
- These are all your kids? - They're all my kids.
All eight of them! You don't have to go anywhere for volunteers.
That's so I don't have to do a lotta work.
I just to make it simple, I called 'em number one, number two, number five.
That's what I called 'em.
It was easier.
I need somebody to helme with the frames.
Seven.
I need you over here.
Number seven.
Okay, number eight, I need you to get some pictures.
I came up with the idea of the globe on the wall.
Let's have Ms.
candy go around the world.
Number three! Where'd number three go? I need you back on the table, number three.
The family went crazy when they saw all the places Ms.
candy went.
We had Ms.
candy around the world in the same outfit.
He's embarrassed! Ms.
candy's in Greece.
She is in Australia.
This is hysterical.
Do you guys understand that this wall is gonna be such a great teaching tool? Yes.
My mom's gonna be able to look around her room and know that the community came together to help her.
She's a great lady.
This is gonna make her feel so good.
Seven days prior, this place was in shambles.
When this flood first happened, you were not even allowed in the building without a bio suit on.
That's how far we've come.
Awesome week.
Lotta work.
Biggest project yet.
28 classrooms, not even mentioning the cafeteria or the gymnasium.
This community came together so quickly to get this done for us in seven days, and we couldn't have done it without them! Guys! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Yes! Kingston Springs! We did in seven days what some people said would take a year.
And it wouldn't have happened without the amazing volunteers and people in Kingston Springs.
We pulled up.
Like everyone was in shock.
Ms.
candy was crying.
Yes! Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes! You guys ready? I just felt really anxious.
I just wanted to go back inside the school.
I just can't wait.
When I got off the bus, I wanted to run.
I didn't wanna walk.
Oh, it's amazing.
Welcome back, Kingston Springs elementary school! Days after the flood, we came together.
We decided we, as a community, could rebuild this school.
And you did it! Yes! Wyatt and Liam, this journey began with the two of you, so I think you should have the honor of cutting the ribbon.
It is an honor to be cutting the ribbon so we can go into our school.
3, 2, 1.
I'm jumping up and down in the cafeteria because this is gorgeous! It's awesome.
We're back.
Our school's here.
And we're back together.
Come on in! Welcome to your brand-new library! Look at the library! The library looks so much different.
All these new books.
There's so many I couldn't believe that they could afford all that.
It was just awesome.
I just wanted to just sing from the rafters.
Wow! Wow, wow.
We lost so much, but we gained so much more.
Hi! Welcome to your microsoft computer lab! Not only is it gorgeous, the technology is out of this world, and it's just so exciting.
This tower over here has 30 hp netbooks.
You can lock that up and wheel it to any classroom.
Oh, Ms.
Tammy! In the flood, they lost all of their lesson plans.
They lost all of their curriculum.
Microsoft and bing put together some incredible resources for teachers, and you can download these e-books and lesson plans for your kids.
We will absolutely use this.
- Mm-hmm.
- It's great.
Come on in! Come on in, Ms.
candy.
Welcome to your new world.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
It's awesome! It's okay, it's okay! Come on in! This is your You are kidding! Look at You deserve this.
It's okay, it's okay.
You deserve this, Ms.
candy.
When I walked into my classroom, on my wall was artifacts from around the world.
I couldn't envision that my room would have those things in it.
I have my room back.
I have my home back.
I'm gonna grab you.
Ms.
candy, it's just like a dream come true.
My favorite thing to see is my teachers seeing their new rooms and seeing them so happy.
I did not think that this school would be this beautiful.
All right, thumbs up.
What we can learn from Ms.
candy is that even in the midst of the storm that you can be a light for others.
I'm terrified about what Ms.
olszak's gonna think of her new room.
Because when I stood in that room seven days ago, she told me she had lost hope.
She didn't know if she was gonna be able to come back to the school as a teacher.
So we've got a whole new room for her, and I hope that changes her mind.
Go, Ms.
o, go, Ms.
o.
Here we go! I'm terrified about what Ms.
olszak's gonna think of her new room.
Because when I stood in that room seven days ago, she told me she had lost hope.
She didn't know if she was gonna be able to come back to the school as a teacher.
So we've got a whole new room for her, and I hope that changes her mind.
Go, Ms.
o, go, Ms.
o! I really have mixed feelings.
I'm excited, but there's a little bit of fear.
I can't even begin to describe it.
Go, Ms.
o! Go, Ms.
o! Here we go! Go, Ms.
o, go, Ms.
o.
Ms.
o, welcome back.
Oh, gosh.
There was this total transformation.
Now, I mean, my whole room is amazing.
Oh Unbelievable.
These are all former students, people that love you.
They put their pictures in computers.
We turned them into cartoons.
Oh, gosh! They Drew their faces and they colored themselves in.
Oh, my gosh.
The excitement is back, and the ugliness has been erased.
The queen is back, guys.
The queen is back! Whoo! I've learned so much this week.
I found out that my school had lots of pride in it and that our community is a really, really nice community.
They just helped to make our school just all really awesome.
Awesome.
So there's a neighbor from just down the street that wants to do a special performance just for Kingston Springs elementary.
How do you feel about that? Guys, please welcome lady antebellum! Thank y'all so much for having us.
We're very, very excited to be here.
Thank y'all for having us.
When I look around at the concert, I see families, I see teachers.
I see a group of people that will stand by each other no matter what.
The waters took away a lot of things, but the one thing it did not take away was the love and the spirit of this town.
And that's all you need in life.
If you have that, you can accomplish anything.
Kingston Springs, school is in! I never imagined that we would be able to start school, andLook where I am.
My kids are reading now.
They have a place to come and learn.
The life is back in this room.
Kingston Springs has more than hope.
We have our pride back too.
Our students are gonna expound on any test that's ever been given, because they're proud of their new school.
It's the worst flood in modern history.
The river rose 13 feet and destroyed Kingston Springs elementary school.
It was flooded with all this nasty water, and it's polluted all over the place.
It will take a long time to clean this up.
It's taken a while to absorb the fact that 36 years is gone.
We've got just seven days to get Kingston Springs ready for the new school year.
Is anybody a little overwhelmed? Yes, there is so much to do.
But to bring this school back to life, we'll need the help of everyone, from the youngest volunteers to the biggest country superstars.
Can this school rise from the flood? School is in! Four individuals from different walks of life have come together to help communities renovate their schools.
Are you ready? Susie castillo.
Designer and former miss usa.
It's a proven fact that when children have a better learning environment, like what we're giving them, test scores skyrocket, and they get better grades.
Jacob soboroff, political journalist, determined to find out why so many of our schools are on the brink of collapse.
I think that education in America is broken.
No teacher or no student should feel like their school is a prison.
Kym whitley.
Comedian, and former teacher.
If you can give a child a great beginning, they could become anything.
And me, Tom stroup.
Team leader, and SWAT commander.
We're basically community organizers.
It's about going to a community and helping the community help themselves.
This week we're headed to Kingston Springs elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Hi, my name is Wyatt, and I'm a fourth grader at Kingston Springs elementary school.
Hi, my name is Liam, and I'm a fourth grader at Kingston Springs elementary school.
This is our school.
We have a river close to it.
It's called the harpeth river.
And it may seem like a calm river, but it flooded our school.
It's still standing, but it's not pretty.
And inside it was flooded with all this nasty water, and it's polluted all over the place.
It will take a long time to clean this up.
Kingston Springs elementary was completely underwater, almost up to the tops of the doors.
Everything was completely devastated.
We have to start over.
But it's gonna take a lot of work.
We have a good community, but we're gonna need help.
School is out of session because of the flood.
It's really dangerous, and there's a sign outside that says we can't even go in.
The teachers, they can't go back to work.
They can't go back to the classroom.
They can't even go back inside the school.
Teaching's my life.
I was there, day and night.
The children had just been devastated.
They're all ready to come back to school.
And if the kids don't get to start, I don't know what we're gonna do.
It's taken a while to actually, um Just absorb the fact that 36 years, basically, is gone.
We really love our teachers, and they love us.
We want to go back to school so we can have an education when we grow up.
Yes, an education is very important.
But our spirit is down now, because we don't have a school.
It's so important to help fix this school.
Because of Wyatt and Liam, they need this place.
They need to learn and enjoy their young lives.
Thank you, nbc.
We hope to see you soon.
Bye.
We're in Tennessee.
We're going to Kingston Springs elementary school.
This is really where you're going to see the damage from the flood.
Kingston Springs had a flood, and it devastated not just that school, but the entire region.
One whole year's worth of rain in two days.
Oh, look.
WowDevastation.
I look out of the car, and I just see destruction.
Bridges, houses, trees, cars.
It's a mess.
- Oh, look.
- Look at this.
Oh, my God.
We're on our way to the school, and I was not ready for what I saw.
These were riverfront homes that were totally washed off their foundations.
That is very sad.
This is surreal.
It's the worst flood in modern history.
Do you see this road? Look at this house, down here.
- What? - Oh, stop! This isn't just bureaucracy or bad school facilities.
This is a natural disaster.
These kids are actually in a middle school.
They've been relocated, 'cause their school is actually unsafe to be in.
So we're not going to actually go to the elementary school right now.
We gotta go make the announcement at the middle school where they're at.
- Let's do this.
- Yes.
We're gonna rebuild Kingston Springs elementary.
School pride is coming to town! Whoo! - All right.
- You all right? - Yeah, I'm okay.
- Line it up right here! - What up, Kingston Springs? - Bring it on in! Keep coming! Wow, this is amazing.
Kingston Springs! Kingston Springs! Kingston Springs, Kingston Springs! We're the school pride team, and we are here to help you rebuild your school.
Where is Liam? Good.
Where's Wyatt? All right.
Thank you, guys! We got your tape and because of you two, we are here to help you rebuild Kingston Springs elementary school.
We are here to give you new memories.
We are here to give you new supplies.
We are here to restore the hope in Kingston Springs.
How many of you are going to help us make over Kingston Springs elementary? We have seven days to rebuild this school.
Are you ready to start this clock? Yeah! Let's count it down.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Start the clock! Let's go.
Let's go, let's go! This is gonna be awesome! You gonna help us fix it up? Oh, yeah! I got helping hands here, and they're ready to work.
Normally, the first step we take is to empty out the entire school.
But the damage was so extensive that a restoration crew has been doing all the heavy lifting ever since the flood.
Jacob.
Russ dailey, with belfor usa.
Ah, so you're with belfor.
I am.
So you're the guy putting this all together, making sure this all goes smoothly.
Belfor is a company that cleans up immediately after disasters in major situations that have large-scale messes.
Before any work can be done, they have to clean up the mess that the storm left.
We had 80 30-yard dumpsters removed from this building alone.
Wow.
80 30-yard dumpsters.
There was probably several dumpsters' worth of personal items that the teachers had brought in that got thrown away.
This is different than any school we've ever done before because we are completely rebuilding the inside of this school from the ground up.
We got a lot of work to do here.
And a very short time to do it.
- Oh, wow.
- Wow.
It feels so empty, like this isn't even our school anymore.
I feel really sad, because this was a really good school.
And I just hate to see everything just gone.
- Wow.
- Where's the books? I just can't believe all this.
Yeah, I mean, where's all the books? When I saw the school, it made me think about all the memories that we had in there and all of the teachers and what they have lost.
It's just a terrible tragedy.
It was very, very overwhelming.
I can't wait to see what next school year's gonna be like.
You're about to show me around, I hope.
I'm gonna show you around I haven't been in there, so Wait, you have not been in the school? I have not been in the school since I left.
Since you were in the school.
Yeah, since I was in the school getting rescued.
During the flood, my husband and I had gone back in to unplug all the computers and to set tables and chairs up so they would not get any wetter.
We couldn't get out.
The water was higher outside than it was inside.
The dumpster was floating by at that time.
We had no idea the water had come up that fast from the river.
The water just kept coming in the doors, and about the time it got to my waist, we decided we needed to go up on the roof to keep from drowning.
Now, where's the water on the stairs? Is it in yet? Yes, it's up to here.
- So the water's right here.
- The water's at least to here.
So you had to push this open.
Had to push it open.
Ms.
candy is very brave.
She came back during the flood just trying to save something for the school.
So that's covered in water.
Yes.
It just kept flooding.
The fire department came over, and the Captain He was one of my students And he said, "we're gonna get you down.
" Ms.
candy has a spirit and determination of a giant.
She is the pillar of strength for the community.
And I want to make sure she gets everything back.
This is my room.
We're here today because this is actually the first day that you can get back into this school.
It's been condemned.
So I grabbed Ms.
olszak and I took her straight to her classroom.
Wow.
Oh, gosh.
Yep.
It's sad.
It was a great room.
I had books up here, and I had little reading chairs, and everything was color-coordinated.
We had personal things in here.
Books your children have given you, gifts They're irreplaceable.
You never can imagine that your classroom can be wiped out.
It's just unfathomable.
We couldn't salvage anything.
Ms.
olszak's reaction to seeing her room for the first time was overwhelming and she could hardly stand to be in there.
We'll take the memories that you've got and we'll do what we can with those and make some new memories this week how about that? And we'll have a whole new room for you.
That'll be great.
The clock is ticking, and we still have work to do, so what are you guys thinking? I think maybe one of the big things that we should do is give these kids the supplies that they lost.
- Yes.
- And maybe some new things that they can build new memories with, you know? Because obviously all their memories washed away.
Is anybody a little overwhelmed? Yes! There is so much to do.
It's crazy.
It is crazy.
We have to get done in seven days what would normally take one year.
This week we are rebuilding an entire school.
A project this big would have taken years to get done.
It's likely these kids would have been stuck in portables someplace.
I want to get the teachers and the students back in their classroom.
The library, I'd like to go in the library.
Every book in there Gone.
- Yeah.
- Without exception.
Nothing left behind.
I want to spend some time with Ms.
olszak, because she thinks she lost everything.
She lost her whole life.
And we're never gonna replace what they lost here at Kingston Springs.
But hopefully we can create some new memories for them.
Absolutely.
What I really want to do is I want to focus on Ms.
candy.
You know, I really bonded with her.
She took a risk going up on that roof to get those computers.
Speaking of computers, I want to take over the computer room.
The teachers lost everything.
I mean, they lost all of their resources.
So I want to make sure that they get all of their supplies back, everything they lost, and so much more.
This is gonna be emotional, though.
This is the biggest project that we've done yet.
And we've got seven days to do it.
All right, let's do this.
How's it going? Good to see you all.
Thanks for coming in.
Okay, volunteers, what are we doing in here? We're ready to go.
We are getting volunteers in record numbers.
All right, y'all, keep up the good work.
Just to think that these are people in this community who have gone through this flood.
But they are showing up.
It makes you want to be a part of this community.
Hey, everybody.
- Hey! - Hi, how are you? Hi! - Hi, Ms.
candy! - How are you? You know, this is great.
You see all the volunteers? Yes, I do, and, I mean, it's just awesome to know that they came to help us.
I mean, 'cause there's nothing in there.
Being there at the registration table, I was so overwhelmed by all the help that they wanted to do for us.
And it just kept pouring in.
I mean, it was like the flood coming again.
But it was with people to rebuild our school.
Do you have a lot of kids, here? - I have eight children.
- You have eight children? That went to school here.
They all went to school here.
- Yes.
- What do you need? What do I need? I need things just to start teaching.
I need desks, I need chairs, I need a white board.
Every month I study a country, amd so I need maps and pictures of around the world, and I need permanent markers, 'cause I write happy faces on their hands and things like that, so they can go home and show mom, "look, thumbs up, mom.
I did good.
" You write on the kid's hands? Yeah, I write little happy faces.
Little happy faces on Could you put one on my hand? Yes, I'll put one on your hand.
This week is about rebuilding, replacing, reenergizing the place.
Thumbs up, Ms.
candy! Yes! I was good today.
I like that.
Did you just do your snort? Yes.
I'm so sorry.
I'm sorry! Liam, you having fun so far? Yes.
Why was it so important to you that you send in that tape and that we be here to fix your school? Well, school is like a second home to me.
I learned most of the stuff that I already know, I learned here.
Liam is a really sweet kid, you know? And I feel like he's had to grow up as soon as the flood happened.
So Liam, I heard that you lost your book bag when the flood happened? Yes, I did.
I left it over weekend, so I had all my textbooks, my workbooks, and a crayon box, and all kinds of other stuff in there.
- Really? - Mm-hmm.
Oh, man.
Liam, I have to tell you that I am really proud of you, young man, because, look around, look at all these people.
You psyched about it, or what? I'm excited.
It it's gonna be awesome.
I think so too.
So how's your week going? It's going pretty cool.
Yeah? What do you think of all these volunteers? I think that this is just wonderful.
As I talk to Wyatt, I learn more and more about why he cares so much about this school.
This is a young man that wants to go to school.
And that flood took all that away from him.
So we're gonna give it back to him.
This community was already a great place to live.
It's too bad that something like this had to happen, but I think we'll turn it into a good thing, don't you? Yeah.
Everything so far is just wonderful.
It is so cool that all these people are coming to help Kingston Springs.
I really do love my community.
Are you ready for the big The big reveal day? - I am.
- It's gonna be an exciting day.
Two months ago, these kids lost everything in this flood.
I mean, they lost their backpacks, they lost supplies, but they're getting everything back this week.
Come on in! Aah! Hi, Liam and Wyatt! Gather around.
Gather around! I'm working with Walmart.
They decided they're gonna step in and they're gonna donate all kinds of school supplies Notebooks, pens, new sneakers T-shirts, jeans for school.
Everything that the kids lost in the flood a month and a half ago, they're getting back.
- Are you guys psyched? - Yeah! I wasn't expecting this.
This is super-awesome.
You like these? Well, there you go, sweetie.
You're the manager of the local Walmart, right? Right.
And what happened to your store during the flood? We were completely flooded.
How's your store doing now? Is it back on its feet? We're almost done.
That's why we're all here to give back.
There you go.
So many of her friends have been through so much.
To see everybody come together to help Walmart donated, and it's just wonderful.
Thank you, Walmart! Hey, Ms.
o.
Welcome back.
Hello.
- How are ya? - Well A little nervous.
I hadn't seen Ms.
olszak since we walked through her room that was flooded out.
I wanna figure out where she had been.
What have you been up to? Why haven't we seen you around here? It's been kinda difficult to come over here.
It's immediately evident to me that this is a woman who is broken, who is hurting inside.
Why did you not want to come back? Was it because you lost so many memories in the flood? It was very painful.
It's still painful.
We couldn't salvage one thing out of that room.
So it is traumatic.
I get up in the morning It's like I can't do it.
I've lost hope because my classroom is gone.
Where do we go from here? Do you stay, do you not stay? Do you rebuild, do you move on? Ms.
olszak has got these memories of this classroom that was flooded away etched into her mind, and she can't let go.
I wanna help her regain that hope.
Have you driven by the outside since we've started? Every single day, hundreds and hundreds of people are all here.
They're all here for you.
It is unbelievable.
What a lesson these little people have already received in kindness, in generosity.
This is the blessing behind the tragedy.
It is unbelievable.
Listen, I know it's hard for you to be here.
I'm not gonna make you go inside, but I need you to make me one promise.
When we cut that red ribbon for your new school, I need you to be here and let me take you into your classroom.
Make me the promise.
You promise? Yes, I will.
Come about another inch, guys.
Right there, perfect.
In the immediate aftermath of the storm, it fell on the local community to rescue themselves.
I heard about Katie and Amy, the two sisters that run the red tree coffee who had a huge, huge role in the disaster response immediately after the floods.
So I hopped in the car, and I headed there.
Onstar center.
This is Kathleen.
I'm looking for turn by turn directions to the red tree coffee.
Directions are now being sent to your vehicle.
Hey, there.
Well, hello.
- How are you doing? - I'm good, how are you? I'm Jacob.
I'm with the school pride team.
We're working at Kingston Springs.
- Katie.
- It's so nice to meet you.
- Hey.
- My sister Amy.
Amy, nice to meet you.
These two ladies are not two ladies you expect to get in charge of 400 volunteers.
They run a tiny little coffee shop.
I keep hearing this place was ground zero.
But what does that even mean? What was going on here? Most everybody's power was out except the coffee shop power.
Except for us.
So we were able to send people messages and say come to red tree if you need help, and within two hours, we had over 100 people here.
Then people started coming in and saying do you know of anybody that needs help? You know, it's frustrating when you feel like you can't help.
So we decided to not feel like we couldn't help.
We decided that we could help.
So it really is a volunteer state.
- It is! - It is, yeah.
- That's exactly right.
- It is a volunteer state.
Even though the flood was horrible and it wrecked so many lives, it has knit this community together.
What does the school What does Kingston Springs elementary mean to this area? It's a special place in my heart because I taught at the school for several years.
And so all of those teachers are my friends that lost all of their stuff.
The more I get to know the people at Kingston Springs, the more I understand that this school is the heart of this community, and rebuilding it is the key to having this community recover from the flood.
Beautiful.
All right, hand those up to me, big man, and I'll stick 'em in here.
Gimme time to get up here and move 'em, all right? - Yep.
- What do you think about what's going on here this week? Well, I've never seen it empty before.
Well, you know what, in four days, it's all gonna be back.
Yep.
I can't wait.
Now, did your house get affected by the flood too? - No, it did not.
- It did not? But some of my teachers like Ms.
Shelton and Ms.
plemons, they lost their homes in the flood.
Are they here today also? Mm-hmm.
They, uh, they're helping out.
So they lost their homes in the flood, and they're still here helping out the school.
- Mm-hmm.
- Wow.
I'd really like to meet them and talk to them.
Wyatt explained to me that two of the teachers at the school, Ms.
plemons and Ms.
Shelton, also lost their homes.
So they not only lost all their personal possessions at school, they lost everything at their home too.
I wanna meet these teachers.
When I found out that the school was flooded, on top of my house being flooded, I thought, well, what am I gonna do with my life? My life has just turned upside down.
There's nothing.
Uh It was just, uh, overwhelming.
What's the biggest lesson from all this for you personally? You know, you wanna help others, but you really have to learn to ask for help, and people will be there to help you.
And just take it a day at a time.
How do you I mean, you're not even back in your homes yet and you're here helping this school.
'Cause we love these kids.
When you sign up to be a teacher, this is your world, this is your life.
And that's why I'm so thankful for you guys to come because I could not have done this.
I could not have done this.
I look at Ms.
plemons and Ms.
Shelton.
Then it hits me.
This is not about the school.
This is about people.
And I have to think of a way to just give them some sort of hope back.
Thank you all for coming.
There's a lot of shopping we have to do for the school.
I love this store, so we're gonna be here a while.
I asked Ms.
plemons and Ms.
Shelton to meet me at home depot.
I told them we were going to buy some more supplies for the school, but I've got a surprise for them.
Ms.
plemons and Ms.
Shelton, I know I told you we were here for the school, and I know you're teachers and you don't like little white lies, but I got you here to surprise you.
Our good friends at the home depot have decided to give each of you $5,000 gift cards to spend at any home depot for you personally to help you put your lives back together.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you.
My heart just dropped when he said $5,000.
I've never had a gift like that in my life.
I can't believe this.
I can't believe this.
I don't know what to say.
I appreciate it so much.
I've been doing a lot of crying lately.
I'm trying to get it under control.
Well, what do you say we go shopping? Okay.
- Oh, wow.
- Yay! I need a microwave.
I want one like this right here.
The help we got from the government only paid for half of our damage.
So for Tom to give us that, it was just such a blessing.
I know you guys need some flooring.
We've got the Martha Stewart living collection.
- Pretty.
- Yeah.
- This is exciting! - I know! I don't know where to begin.
It was an amazing gift.
I'll never forget it as long as I live.
Oh, wow.
Oh, my gosh.
Who's doing a good job today? We are.
Oh, there's my girls! It's day five.
We have to rebuild an elementary school that was hit by one of the worst floods in the history of Tennessee.
Can I see everybody's thumb, please? Does everybody know about Ms.
candy? - Smiley face.
- Smiley face.
Yeah! Instead of giving stars to the kids when they go home, Ms.
candy creates a little face on your thumb.
Thank you.
Good job.
I think it's a great idea to encourage people with the smiley face.
So I'm going to go around to the volunteers and give them a thumbs up Ms.
candy face.
You know Ms.
king? I know candy.
I went to school with candy.
She was a couple grades ahead of me, but I remember when she was doing those cheerleading Success! Ms.
candy used to be a cheerleader? - Yeah! - Yeah.
Oh, you shouldn't have told me that.
Ms.
candy? Okay, do the cheer.
- Ready? - C-c-a-r-d I-n-a-l-s! Kingston cardinals! K-p-b! - Can you do a split? - She can too! Ms.
candy, you cannot do a split! Oh Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute! Ms.
candy says, "I can do the splits," but I don't believe her.
Kingston cardinals.
K-p-b! Wow! Well, Ms.
candy lost everything during the flood, but she didn't lose her spirit.
We're having an emotional time, but we're having a good time.
We're just making the best out of it.
Muah! Aw! Thank you, Ms.
candy! Who all here has had Ms.
olszak as a teacher? What do you think of her as a teacher? Awesome! She's an awesome teacher, huh? Ms.
olszak is very sad.
She's having a hard time dealing with losing all of her stuff.
So what we're gonna do is create new memories for her using all of our creativity and our imagination.
Here's the deal I have a computer program right here called crayola story studio.
And we are gonna take pictures of our faces, and it'll turn us into cartoons.
We're gonna color in the cartoons of ourselves, and we're gonna give 'em back to Ms.
olszak.
Perfect! The final product's gonna be a mural with all these stories of pirates and rock stars and race car drivers, and they're all gonna be Ms.
olszak's former students.
Nobody could ever give Ms.
olszak back the memories that were washed away by the flood, but what we could do is create new memories.
It's one day before the reveal.
These kids haven't been kids all week.
We decide we're gonna send them to a water park for the day.
Attention, students and teachers.
Thank you for all of your hard work.
You are gonna get a day off.
You are going to go to Nashville shores waterpark.
Have fun and cool off.
When you come back, you'll have a brand-new school.
The children were so happy.
They were ecstatic.
They were chasing us.
They were chasing each other.
It was like a load was taken off of them and they could enjoy it.
More fun than In my ever whole life.
Thank you, school pride, for letting us go to Nashville shores.
You guys ready to load some books in the library? Yeah! We have 10,000 books.
Who better to put 'em in there than the High School football team? The coach was there.
The kids were all in line.
10,000 books.
Grab a box and go! All these young men went to this elementary school.
We got 'em in there like that.
It's the night before the big reveal.
I had asked Mr.
Larry, Ms.
candy's husband, to bring me some volunteers.
Great! What do you got goin' on? Okay.
Wow Ooh, wow! All these people come into Ms.
candy's room.
I'm thinking it's just regular people.
Are these strangers? Who are these people? They're just me and candy's kids.
- These are all your kids? - They're all my kids.
All eight of them! You don't have to go anywhere for volunteers.
That's so I don't have to do a lotta work.
I just to make it simple, I called 'em number one, number two, number five.
That's what I called 'em.
It was easier.
I need somebody to helme with the frames.
Seven.
I need you over here.
Number seven.
Okay, number eight, I need you to get some pictures.
I came up with the idea of the globe on the wall.
Let's have Ms.
candy go around the world.
Number three! Where'd number three go? I need you back on the table, number three.
The family went crazy when they saw all the places Ms.
candy went.
We had Ms.
candy around the world in the same outfit.
He's embarrassed! Ms.
candy's in Greece.
She is in Australia.
This is hysterical.
Do you guys understand that this wall is gonna be such a great teaching tool? Yes.
My mom's gonna be able to look around her room and know that the community came together to help her.
She's a great lady.
This is gonna make her feel so good.
Seven days prior, this place was in shambles.
When this flood first happened, you were not even allowed in the building without a bio suit on.
That's how far we've come.
Awesome week.
Lotta work.
Biggest project yet.
28 classrooms, not even mentioning the cafeteria or the gymnasium.
This community came together so quickly to get this done for us in seven days, and we couldn't have done it without them! Guys! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Yes! Kingston Springs! We did in seven days what some people said would take a year.
And it wouldn't have happened without the amazing volunteers and people in Kingston Springs.
We pulled up.
Like everyone was in shock.
Ms.
candy was crying.
Yes! Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes! You guys ready? I just felt really anxious.
I just wanted to go back inside the school.
I just can't wait.
When I got off the bus, I wanted to run.
I didn't wanna walk.
Oh, it's amazing.
Welcome back, Kingston Springs elementary school! Days after the flood, we came together.
We decided we, as a community, could rebuild this school.
And you did it! Yes! Wyatt and Liam, this journey began with the two of you, so I think you should have the honor of cutting the ribbon.
It is an honor to be cutting the ribbon so we can go into our school.
3, 2, 1.
I'm jumping up and down in the cafeteria because this is gorgeous! It's awesome.
We're back.
Our school's here.
And we're back together.
Come on in! Welcome to your brand-new library! Look at the library! The library looks so much different.
All these new books.
There's so many I couldn't believe that they could afford all that.
It was just awesome.
I just wanted to just sing from the rafters.
Wow! Wow, wow.
We lost so much, but we gained so much more.
Hi! Welcome to your microsoft computer lab! Not only is it gorgeous, the technology is out of this world, and it's just so exciting.
This tower over here has 30 hp netbooks.
You can lock that up and wheel it to any classroom.
Oh, Ms.
Tammy! In the flood, they lost all of their lesson plans.
They lost all of their curriculum.
Microsoft and bing put together some incredible resources for teachers, and you can download these e-books and lesson plans for your kids.
We will absolutely use this.
- Mm-hmm.
- It's great.
Come on in! Come on in, Ms.
candy.
Welcome to your new world.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
It's awesome! It's okay, it's okay! Come on in! This is your You are kidding! Look at You deserve this.
It's okay, it's okay.
You deserve this, Ms.
candy.
When I walked into my classroom, on my wall was artifacts from around the world.
I couldn't envision that my room would have those things in it.
I have my room back.
I have my home back.
I'm gonna grab you.
Ms.
candy, it's just like a dream come true.
My favorite thing to see is my teachers seeing their new rooms and seeing them so happy.
I did not think that this school would be this beautiful.
All right, thumbs up.
What we can learn from Ms.
candy is that even in the midst of the storm that you can be a light for others.
I'm terrified about what Ms.
olszak's gonna think of her new room.
Because when I stood in that room seven days ago, she told me she had lost hope.
She didn't know if she was gonna be able to come back to the school as a teacher.
So we've got a whole new room for her, and I hope that changes her mind.
Go, Ms.
o, go, Ms.
o.
Here we go! I'm terrified about what Ms.
olszak's gonna think of her new room.
Because when I stood in that room seven days ago, she told me she had lost hope.
She didn't know if she was gonna be able to come back to the school as a teacher.
So we've got a whole new room for her, and I hope that changes her mind.
Go, Ms.
o, go, Ms.
o! I really have mixed feelings.
I'm excited, but there's a little bit of fear.
I can't even begin to describe it.
Go, Ms.
o! Go, Ms.
o! Here we go! Go, Ms.
o, go, Ms.
o.
Ms.
o, welcome back.
Oh, gosh.
There was this total transformation.
Now, I mean, my whole room is amazing.
Oh Unbelievable.
These are all former students, people that love you.
They put their pictures in computers.
We turned them into cartoons.
Oh, gosh! They Drew their faces and they colored themselves in.
Oh, my gosh.
The excitement is back, and the ugliness has been erased.
The queen is back, guys.
The queen is back! Whoo! I've learned so much this week.
I found out that my school had lots of pride in it and that our community is a really, really nice community.
They just helped to make our school just all really awesome.
Awesome.
So there's a neighbor from just down the street that wants to do a special performance just for Kingston Springs elementary.
How do you feel about that? Guys, please welcome lady antebellum! Thank y'all so much for having us.
We're very, very excited to be here.
Thank y'all for having us.
When I look around at the concert, I see families, I see teachers.
I see a group of people that will stand by each other no matter what.
The waters took away a lot of things, but the one thing it did not take away was the love and the spirit of this town.
And that's all you need in life.
If you have that, you can accomplish anything.
Kingston Springs, school is in! I never imagined that we would be able to start school, andLook where I am.
My kids are reading now.
They have a place to come and learn.
The life is back in this room.
Kingston Springs has more than hope.
We have our pride back too.
Our students are gonna expound on any test that's ever been given, because they're proud of their new school.