By Cindy Kranz
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Wayne Williams, a second-grader, calls goodbye to a teacher as his shuttle bus heads for Porter School on Friday. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

Heberle Elementary students, displaced by lead contamination at their school, spilled out of nine shuttle buses Thursday morning for their first day at Porter School in the West End.

For many, it was their first school bus ride and a chance to explore a different school.

"The day went very well," said Principal Derryl King. "Adults tend to get more excited, but the kids were calm."

The Cincinnati Health Department informed the district April 7 that a Heberle preschooler's blood was found to have elevated lead levels. Health department tests at Heberle revealed lead paint dust and lead paint chips near old wooden windows. It's not known, however, if the child ingested the lead at school, said Janet Walsh, Cincinnati Public Schools spokeswoman.

In addition, 23 other Cincinnati Public schools will be inspected as a precaution because they have the same kind of painted wooden windows as Heberle.

Ninety percent of Heberle's 500 students walk to school, so they were loaded Thursday morning onto buses at Heberle in the West End and transported a mile and a third to Porter. Some parents rode the bus or followed it. Others brought their children to school.

"I followed the bus to make sure everything was all right," said Shawnna Killings of Price Hill. "My son is a first-grader and has never rode a public school bus before. He was so excited. It looks like a better building than what they were in."

She is, however, concerned about her 7-year-old son's health. She just got him tested for lead through her physician and won't know the results for a week.

Cincinnati Public Schools is offering free blood lead-level testing to all Heberle students and staff, starting Tuesday. Results will be available within two weeks.

Thursday was the first day back for students after spring break. Heberle students were to return Tuesday, because teachers had a scheduled in-service day Monday.

That gave Heberle's 45 teachers three days this week to unpack their books and supplies in the vacant portion of Hays/Porter/Washburn Elementary.

Deidre Simpson, the school's reading facilitator, said the teachers did a "dynamite" job turning an empty building into a school that feels like home. "The teacher morale is excellent," she said. "They've embraced the situation and turned what could be a negative into a positive."

An intervention team, composed of a school psychologist, social worker and nurse, visited each classroom to talk about the transition. Students were asked to express their feelings in writing about the move.

The district hired 14 substitute teachers Thursday to help make the transition as smooth as possible. "Whenever you make a change of this magnitude, you want to err on the side of getting as much help as possible," Walsh said.

Although the day went smoothly, some parents aren't happy about the situation.

Denise Cannon of Westwood dropped off her 4-year-old son, who is in preschool. "I don't like it, because they knew about it April 7," she said. "They just called me April 18 and said he's got to come here."

She received a letter from the district Monday.

Mary Harrington of the West End didn't receive her letter until Wednesday.

"If I hadn't seen the news, I wouldn't have known about it," said Harrington, mother of a 12-year-old sixth-grader. "I bet it's because of the levy. They're trying to pass the levy."

Cincinnati Public Schools has a $480 million bond issue on the May 6 ballot to rebuild schools. Walsh said neither the health department, which brought the affected child to the district's attention, nor the school district, would politicize children's health.

Harrington's son, who walked to Heberle, now has to take a shuttle bus to Porter, which means he must get up earlier, and she must change her work schedule.

"He was a little upset. He doesn't feel this is his school, and he's sharing it with somebody else now."

E-mail ckranz@enquirer.com.