Lee schools to begin re-opening on Monday
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Based on district safety criteria, only 13 Lee County schools will re-open on Monday as had been scheduled with another 15 set to open Tuesday.
The numbers could change, though, as district officials say the process remains fluid and additional schools may be added to the list.
Meeting the nine criteria established by the School District of Lee County as of Thursday, the district will re-open 11 elementary schools and two middle schools Oct. 17.
Schools set for reopening as of press time Thursday include Diplomat, Gulf and Trafalgar elementary schools in Cape Coral.
Also set for re-opening are Bonita Springs, Colonial, Franklin Park, Gulf, Orange River, Orangewood, Three Oaks, Tice and Tropic Isles elementary schools; Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts and Fort Myers Middle Academy.
Schools set to open Oct. 18 include four West Zone schools --Hancock Creek, Littleton and J. Colin English elementaries and Ida Baker High School -- as well as Edison Park, James Stephens, Manatee, Pinewoods, Tanglewood and Villas elementaries; Three Oaks Middle; Cypress Lake High, Buckingham Exceptional Center, and Royal Palm Exceptional Center.
"The District will provide daily updates of the schools cleared to open and the first day of class for students. Schools that are cleared to open will provide their families more information about the return to school," a release from the district issued Thursday states.
Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said the re-opening of schools is a coalition of the willing.
"Our goal will not be calculus and physics. It will be about compassion, grace and sensitivity and determining what our needs are for our students. We can't teach kids that are hungry. We can't teach kids that feel unsafe," he said.
Bernier said the buildings might not be as pretty as before the storm, as some maybe missing ceiling tiles, baseboards and drywall may not be completed. He said in some cases they have lost a lot of carpet and now the schools have bare floors, which is OK.
"It will be fixed before school and at night. We will progress on building on a daily basis," he said.
Chief Academic Officer Dr. Jeff Spiro said there will be a staff reunification day prior to students coming back to the school buildings as a way for staff members to see each other, hug each other and talk about their experience. Families also will have a family reunification day prior to the first day students return back to school full-time. It will give them a chance to see their teachers, see new classrooms, if that is the case.
The district has created a set of criteria that needs to be checked before a school is deemed ready to reopen.
Those measures include reliable power, safe supply of drinking water, building envelope sealed, indoor air quality assessed by an industrial hygienist, functioning HVAC system, fire alarms and intercom systems, school kitchens ready to reopen, as well as debris cleared, or secured.
The debris may not be completely cleared from a campus, but put in areas that are roped off and out of danger of students.
The building envelop seal, Bernier said is making sure windows, roofs and exterior walls are sealed up, so they know they can keep the water out of the buildings if it rains. The functioning fire alarms and intercom systems are one of safety, as he said schools need to be able to communicatee in all classrooms in a safe and reliable manner.
As far as the kitchen, Bernier said schools need the ability to provide students with at least grab and goal meals.
In addition, the school district is making sure debris is cleaned at bus stops, so students do not experience any challenges loading and unloading of buses. Bus routes are also being run to ensure that buses are safe to return to the roads.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Cupid-McCoy shared a few options the district will undergo with the opening of schools.
The first is combination schools, since some schools were heavily impacted with damage.
"We want to keep schools, the community of the school together," she said of the continuity of learning. "Schools that were together prior to Ian, remain together when that is possible. We had to take two elementary schools and physically relocate them to a building of a third elementary school. As a result of having some schools that may be ready to open and some schools that are combined, our opening dates will take on rolling start dates."
The combined schools are Fort Myers Beach Elementary School (80 students) and the Sanibel School (289 students) sharing the physical structure with San Carlos Elementary School with approximately 660 students.
The students of Fort Myers Beach Elementary and the Sanibel School will be served by teachers and staff who previously worked at those schools.
Patriot Elementary School (781 enrolled) will partner with Skyline Elementary PreK-2 with 375 students. Pelican Elementary School (942 enrolled) will partner with Skyline Elementary School third and fifth graders (507 enrolled).
Hancock Creek Elementary School (792 enrolled) will host Hector Cafferata kindergarten through second grade students (375 enrolled). The district is looking into a local charter partner to host the remaining third through fifth grade Hector Cafferata students (350 enrolled).
The last, Success Academy students will be housed at Dunbar Community School.
All numbers are pre Ian enrollment. The schools that are in partnerships, when ready will be transitioned back to their original schools.
The goal is to have the combined schools back to school by Oct. 19, as well as Cypress Lake Middle School, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Early Childhood (infant/toddler) at James Stephens and Early childhood/head start.
The goal is to have Diplomat Middle School and Lexington Middle School students back to their physical building by Oct. 31.
For these students they will participate in Florida Virtual School FLEX. This will include a minimal enrollment of 14 days, staff providing instruction after receiving eight to 10 hours of training.
"Those students will engage in Florida Virtual FLEX where they can have authentic instruction while the physical building is being restored. We believe that to be important as we think about the entire school family of the school district," Cupid-McCoy said. "We want to minimize any number of students not being engaged in one form of instruction."
The Young Parent Education Program will also participate in FLEX.