Emotions are running high at a middle school in New Jersey that will permanently close next week.
The school bears the name of a beloved educator who made history.
Stream Philadelphia News for free, 24/7, wherever you are with NBC10.
WATCH HERE"The walls hold so much history," teacher Jerriann Parlow said.
Parlow has been immersed in all of that history since day one and the soon-to-be retired 8th grade literacy teacher will be there as the last of its students leave the halls of Christa McAuliffe Middle School in Jackson Township.
Wawa Welcome America newsletter: your guide to 16 days of free events celebrating freedom and liberty.
SIGN UP "We can never recreate the family that we have here," Parlow said.
The doors of the middle school are set to close for the final time on June 23 more than three decades after the school opened in 1993 named in memory of McAuliffe.
McAuliffe was selected out of 11,000 applicants to become the first civilian teacher in space and died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster during a NASA mission.
McAuliffe's mother was there when the school named after her daughter opened its doors for the first time.
"I do remember back when I was a seventh grade student, her mother was here with us, opening this building," former student Melita Gagliardi said.
Now, on Monday, June 14, former faculty and staff were welcomed back as part of an open house before the school closes.
A time capsule from 1993 was reopened many years earlier than some expected.
"It’s kind of tough for me. I work here now. As a former student, now everything going to be gone," Valentin Arellan, school employee and former student, explained.
Administrators said that the school is among the casualties of severe cuts in state aid leading to a consolidation of school in the township. The district just filed a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey last week.
The New Jersey Department of Education said that it can't comment on matters involving pending litigation.
"We will take memorabilia and we will try to honor that historical legacy in a new location, even though these doors will close," Christa McAuliffe Middle School principal Debra Phillips said.
One thing they can’t take with them is a pine tree in the school’s courtyard. It grew from a seed that germinated in space and is now taller than the building.
"It's not the walls that make this place so special. It's the people inside this building that make this place so special," according to Gagliardi.
No matter where they go, the teachers say that they will continue to honor Christa McAuliffe's legacy of connecting with students and touching the future.
