Frost Elementary Fire Fuels School Supply Drive for Kindergarten Teachers

Two kindergarten teachers at Frost Elementary School are facing the task of rebuilding their shared classroom with weeks to go before the Aug. 21 start of the new school year, according to Deanna Hurley, an aide to Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham.

Hurley notified media and chamber interests in an email July 31 about the plight of the two teachers, Holly Cover and Jamy Daily-Herman, who reportedly "lost everything" in their shared classroom because of a fire over the weekend.

"Mrs. Cover and Mrs. Daily, are being supported by their co-teachers, who are asking the community for help," Hurley wrote.  "We have no involvement in this process; we just wanted to help to get the word out." 

The school, at 3950 Falkenburg Road, sits in Riverview but serves as well the Brandon area south of State Road 60 and north of Causeway Boulevard/Lumsden Road and west of Lakewood Drive/Providence Road.  

"Last Saturday night, Frost Elementary experienced a smaill fire and is asking for help from the Riverview community," wrote Tanya Doran, executive director of the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce, who received word from Hurley. "These two teachers have been teaching for several years and had accumlated many valuable teacher supplies over the years."

In an , Frost teacher Melissa Stoevsand gave testament to the teachers' ordeal.

"Holly has lost everything that was in her classroom," said fellow Frost teacher Melissa Stoevsand. "Jamy's classroom has heavy smoke damage and a lot of her things are not salvagable. These ladies have been teaching for 17 years combined. Thousands of dollars worth of personal materials were lost and the school district does not cover personal loss."

Frost is named for Ron Frost, the charter principal of Durant High School, and his wife, Sandra Frost, the charter principal of Cimino Elementary School. Both principals have since died from cancer. Opened in 2005, Frost is a Title 1 school, meaning a high percentage of its students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunches because of their families' economic situations.

Doran noted in her email that the shared classroom supports roughly 32 children. Needed are such things as baskets, buckets, posters, Post-it pads and office supplies.

To help their colleagues, Frost educators are seeking gift cards from Target, Staples, Walmart, Amazon, Office Depot, Barnes & Noble Booksellers and Books a Million to help their colleagues replace the lost items.

Additionally, Stoevsand has established an Adopt A Classroom page where donations can be made.