Freedom Elementary administrators raise the roof

Freedom Elementary is putting a new spin on "raising the roof."

After students collected $1,600 in one week during their Penny Wars challenge, Principal Jim Mennes and Assistant Principal Laura Campbell had a special reward for them.

Mennes and Campbell spent March 17 on the roof of the school, overlooking the playground. Using a ladder, they climbed onto the roof around 9 a.m. and didn't dismount until 2 p.m.

They used Skype to talk with students during their lunch periods, and took turns asking students questions and answering their questions.

The only snag for Mennes was he's scared of heights.

"I'm doing it, but I'm still scared," Mennes said, with a laugh, while on top of the roof.

With the blue sky behind them and Mennes' floppy beach hat, it might have appeared to students that the administrators were at the beach. But they overlooked the school's grounds from a new vantage point.

"The kids think it's funny," Campbell said.

The money students collected by asking relatives and friends for loose change or bills, is going toward the $8,000 the school needs to raise to re-vamp its outdated TV production studio. The fundraising campaign has been coined Save Our Studio.

"We've had the same equipment since the school opened in 2003," Parent-Teacher Organization member Chrissy Fairey said. "If the electric goes out, we have no soundboard for three days. We need new microphones, mixers, soundboards — all of it."

Fairey and other PTO members spent a week counting and rolling change. She estimates students collected at least $500 in change.

The school is still accepting donations via its CrowdRise website. To view the page and make a donation, click here.