Lee County schools plan four 'hurricane' makeup days in 2018-19 calendar
Hurricane makeup days are making a comeback in the recently approved 2018-19 school year calendar in Lee County.
And that stems from a tough lesson taught by Hurricane Irma.
That's because this year's original school calendar only planned for one hurricane day, which are used in Florida as makeup days for students when weather-related events prevent schools from being open.
But when Irma, as well as flooding associated with Hurricane Harvey's outer rain bands, lashed Southwest Florida, kids were left out of school for 11 days.
"We had to really manipulate the schedule after having the hurricane to get that to work out," explained Jerry Demming, who oversees high schools as the executive director for school development.
More:Irma update: Lee, Collier public schools working together to plan makeup days
More:Hurricane Irma will force Lee County school to figure out make-up days
This included transitioning teacher work days and early release days into normal school days, and having kids in class on April 2, known as Easter Monday. The district asked the state for greater flexibility with its end-of-year testing schedule.
Lee County School Board asks for state testing delays, flexibility
"It’s all going to work out and everything will be fine," but Demming said the district wanted to ensure additional days could be built into the schedule ahead of time.
According to next year's calendar, the hurricane days are set for Jan. 7 and June 3-5.
Details of the 2018-19 calendar
The calendar calls also for school to start on Aug. 10, 2018, which falls on a Friday. This was done to ensure the first semester ends prior to winter break, so kids won't have to take their final exams when they return to school in January.
While it may seem odd, Demming said it will be an advantage for students.
Middle and high school students, who alternate classes on a block schedule, will use that first day of school to have an extended homeroom before running through all of their classes on a "skinny schedule."
Elementary students will go through a similar day, meeting with their specials teachers, like P.E. or art, as well as reviewing what they need to have in terms of classroom supplies.
"Some kids come prepared the first day with all their school supplies, some don’t," Demming said. "For those that don’t, they will be able to get the list of their supplies and give it to their parents."
The end goal, he added, is that "everything is ready to go at full speed on Monday."
School dates to know for 2018-19
- Aug. 10: first day of school
- Nov. 21-23: Thanksgiving break
- Dec. 24-Jan. 4: winter break
- March 18-22: spring break
- May 30: last day of school