LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lynchburg City Schools announced it will return to a hybrid schedule next week. For students at Paul Munro Elementary, that means it will be the first time they’re back in the building since a fire at the school in November. Lynchburg fire marshals said a heater caused the fire inside a second-grade classroom. Though it was contained to one room, excessive smoke damage caused issues to other areas of the building. Gatzek said the incident caused about $175,000 in damages, but the school is insured.

LYNCHBURG, Va – One week after a fire broke out inside Paul Munro Elementary, Lynchburg City School officials are still working to repair the damage. Lynchburg fire marshals said a heater caused the fire inside a second-grade classroom. Although it was contained to one room, excessive smoke damage caused a greater issue. “There was some, I think, paper material and some plastic [near the heater], and that’s where most of the smoke damage came from, was the plastic burning,” said Gatzek. Students were already on a hybrid schedule, but have switched to remote learning full-time — at least through the holidays.

ROANOKE, Va. - Some local schools are receiving a national honor for education: the distinction of being named a 2019 National Blue Ribbon School. Grandin Court Elementary in Roanoke, Paul Munro Elementary in Lynchburg and Rural Retreat Elementary in Wythe County are among seven Virginia schools to earn this honor. @VDOE_News pic.twitter.com/a3e7wjQ4wh Roanoke City Schools (@RoanokeSchools) September 26, 2019U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos named 362 schools nationwide as 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors K-12 schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement, according to the Virginia Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education will honor the 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools during an awards ceremony later this fall in Washington, D.C.