Hurricane Irma will force Lee County school to figure out make-up days
For complete coverage of Hurricane Irma go to news-press.com/hurricane
Lee County school campuses will be closed on Monday, making it the third day in a row public school students will be out of class due to Hurricane Irma.
These weather-related closures are typically made up with flexible school days that are built into the calendars. They are known in Florida as hurricane days.
But this year, the district only planned for one — Jan. 8.
This is the day before kids are scheduled to come back from winter break. It is now being used as a re-do for last week's school cancellation due to flooding throughout Southwest Florida.
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At this point, district officials are not sure how Irma will impact the rest of the school year calendar, which is built for exactly 180 days for students and includes five more professional or in-service days for teachers.
"Regarding hurricane makeup days, the school district will contact the (Florida Department of Education) to determine what, if any, make-up days are necessary," said Lauren Stillwell, spokeswoman for the district.
Earlier this week, Superintendent Greg Adkins called off class Thursday and Friday in the district, and canceled all after-school activities, including rescheduled varsity football games, for Wednesday.
This was done in an effort to give families, students and staff a chance to prepare for the storm, and make evacuation plans as necessary.
As the now-Category 4 storm churns toward South Florida, Lee school officials will be working with local emergency management officials as well as the state Department of Education to monitor the storm's path and damage.
More:Hurricane Irma: Mandatory evacuations for some areas west of U.S. 41 in Lee County
No decision has been made yet on when schools will return to a normal operating schedule, but the district will make these announcements through its ParentLink call, text and email system, as well as in social media posts.
Lee County students whose families fled the area early, requiring missed school days, or who may have problems getting back to Lee County on time for the return of classes will be considered excused if they have a note from a parent.
This will allow the students to make up the work they missed without penalty, as outlined in the district's student handbook, or code of conduct. Visit leeschools.net for more information.
More:As options to flee Hurricane Irma dwindle, Fort Myers area readies itself for storm's wrath
Other schools in Lee County that are closed at least through Monday:
- Bishop Verot Catholic High School
- Canterbury School
- The Cape charter school system
Check back with The News-Press for updates on area schools. Connect with K-12 education reporter Pamela McCabe on Twitter @NP_pstaik for updates.