Public K-12 schools in Lee and Collier will close for extended spring break due to coronavirus

Got a kid on spring break right now? Time to tell them they get more time. 

The Florida Department of Education has moved to close all public K-12 schools for an extended spring break due to the coronavirus. Because each school system is on different schedules for spring break, they will each get two weeks of closure time — so an extra week.

This impacts Lee County students, who started their spring vacation today, and Collier County students, who were due back in class from their break Tuesday.

At the earliest, Lee students would be back in school March 30. Collier schools would be closed through March 20. Collier students would return March 23.

More:Coronavirus: FGCU, FSW to halt in-person classes, ask students to go back home

But this is still a "very fluid situation," said Lee County Superintendent Greg Adkins said during a Friday evening press conference.

The decision to close schools stems from a 4 p.m. conference call Florida's school district superintendents had with the state commissioner of education. Adkins believes the extra week off will give district staff time to plan ahead.

He said the focus for the closure will be “ensuring that all of our schools have been cleaned deeply” while academic leaders work on a plan to allow distance learning should the closures be extended. 

Should the district need to take up this option, instruction will lean on the use of Chromebooks.

“There’s a lot of unknowns with the COVID-19 situation and this (break) will give us enough time, I think, to really evaluate and make these plans more long-term,” Adkins said.

Already, students in middle and high school have take-home Chromebooks, which are a type of laptop that will allow for virtual instruction. Students in fourth and fifth grades are assigned laptops, but the district would need to “get those into their hands should the need arise,” Adkins said.

“And then with our current inventory, plus with an inventory we have inbound next week, we should be able to provide a device, a Chromebook, to virtually all of our students across the school district,” Adkins said.

Wireless hot spots will be provided to students who need internet access. If there is a reason this would not work out, something Adkins said would be “very rare,” they will provide the instruction in written form, like packets of information and worksheets.

The Chromebooks and other devices would likely be handed out via community drop-off stations, similar to how food is delivered during long breaks from school.

More:Coronavirus: FGCU halts school-related travel to and from China, Italy, Iran, Japan and South Korea

Although district staff will be working the two weeks schools are closed, staff will be communicating with the two employee unions to ensure all staff and educators are notified of their expected work schedules.

“…Should we need to start virtual education of our students, we will be communicating out to our employees in terms of how we’re going to do that,” Adkins said. 

Although there has been no decision, the state is considering how the time out of the classroom will be made up or if it will be waived. This is an important consideration for graduation requirements.

While it could be subject to change, Adkins said no cancellations or delays are in motion for the commencement ceremonies set for Memorial Day weekend.

“Right now at this time we’re hoping that this will be a short-term closure and then we can continue our education virtually for the short haul,” Adkins said.

The district’s transportation and food departments are partnering with the Harry Chapin Food Bank to help feed the students who depend on breakfast, lunch and dinner during the time schools would be closed.

Parents and families are encouraged to sign up for alerts from the district and check out the messages it sends out about these updates.

Like Lee, all Collier schools will be closed, according to a district statement.

Extracurricular activities, like athletics and competitions, district-sponsored student travel in and out of the county and community education classes will be canceled. Before and after school programs are closed under the district’s measures.

More:What events in Southwest Florida are canceled, postponed because of the coronavirus?

All district leases are also suspended until further notice, district officials wrote.

School employees will receive guidance about reporting to work Saturday, according to the statement. 

Board member Jen Mitchell said Collier’s staff participated in several phone calls the past few days with the Florida Department of Health, the governor’s office and the Commissioner of Education’s office working out details that come with closing schools.

“We don’t take any of this lightly,” Mitchell said. "We know that we are going to upset people on both sides. But we have to defer to the medical experts and that’s the Department of Health and the state of Florida."

Collier is readying for virtual education, and a parent survey on “computer and internet access at home” will be sent out Saturday, according to the district announcement.

District staff are preparing for online learning and sharing curriculum with teachers, but Mitchell said many families do not have access to the internet.

“Our district is fortunate, we have a lot of technology and so getting technology in the hands of our students hopefully won’t be too much of an issue,” Mitchell said.

Surveying parents and calling on community partners are ways the district plans to take steps, she said.

The Diocese of Venice has suspended all catholic schools March 17-20. There is no school Monday. All afterschool activities and athletic events are canceled until students return to class. Field trips are postponed until April 1. 

In Fort Myers, Bishop Verot Catholic School acting principal Suzie O'Grady said students will be expected to keep up with assignments as well as participate in daily check-ins as the school engages in e-learning through its use of iPads.

Connect with these reporters: pmccabe@news-press.com and rachel.fradette@naplesnews.com.