Class Back in Session at Trace

School is back in session at Trace Elementary School, six weeks  after an arson fire burned one of its main buildings to the ground.
     This morning, San Jose Unified School District Superintendent  Vincent Matthews dropped by to greet students, parents and staff on the first  day of school.
     He arrived on a school bus and was greeted by the school's mascot,  the Trace Tiger.
     "We're thrilled that the community has come together," Matthews  said.
     Karen Fuqua, spokeswoman for the district, said spirits were high  this morning.
     "Everything looks great," she said. "The teachers looked pretty  happy. The parents were so pleased to see the progress that was made.  Everybody was feeling good."
     On the morning of July 5, a five-alarm blaze destroyed a  25,000-square-foot building that housed 16 classrooms for kindergarten  through second grade as well as offices and a library media center.
     The blaze caused about $10 million in damage. No arrests have been  made in connection with the fire.
     Fuqua said nearly $203,000 in donations has been collected for the  school.
     "And it's growing exponentially every day," Fuqua said.
     The district raised $112,000, which helped it meet a $100,000  insurance deductible and went toward furnishing the classrooms in the  portables.
     About $31,000 has been donated by the Silicon Valley Community  Foundation, which has agreed to match donations dollar for dollar.
     Donations from individuals, community members and corporations to  the Trace Elementary School Fire Fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation  qualify for the match.
     Intel gave a $25,000 donation and Wells Fargo contributed $25,000.  Donations have also come in from various San Jose bookstores, nonprofits and  other school districts.
     Over the summer, 20 portable classrooms were installed at the  school, with half across a courtyard from the burned site and the other half  across the street.
     After the school bell rang this morning and students were settled  in their classrooms, a construction crew went to work in an empty, fenced-in  area where the building that burned stood.
     Construction of the permanent replacement building is expected to  take about 18 months to two years.