Tentative Plans To Reopen Lee County Schools Following Hurricane Ian

Tentative Plans To Reopen Lee County Schools Following Hurricane Ian

According to a press release from the Lee County School District, most classes will resume on Monday, October 17th. 42 elementary schools, 15 middle schools and 18 high schools are ready to open their doors to students and staff.

There are five schools in the district that will go back to a "host school".  Some of the schools will be split among two host schools due to the number of students,  beginning Wednesday, October 19th.

Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Hector Cafferata have suffered extensive damages to their buildings from Hurricane Ian.  Those schools will return on a rolling basis.

There are also some schools that will take on virtual school until later in the month.  Diplomat and Lexington Middle Schools will not be ready to open until October 31st.

Reopening criteria, schools effected, host and partner schools are all outlined in the video below.  Host of the video is Lee County School District superintendent, Christopher Bernier.

Thursday, October 13^th and Friday October 14^th to help families that were forced to move or take temporary housing by Hurricane Ian. Displaced or relocated families will have the opportunity to enroll their students into a school in their new zone. The satellite offices will be open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or until the last person in line receives assistance.

There are two Student Enrollment satellite locations in each zone:

West Zone

East Zone

South Zone

The Student Enrollment Office at Lee County Public Education Center at 2855 Colonial Blvd. in Fort Myers will also be open to assist families from any of the School District’s three zones. Social workers, Exceptional Student Education and bilingual support will be available at each location.

Tentative Plans To Reopen Lee County Schools Following Hurricane Ian

After ripping apart islands such as Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, and Pine Island, Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa. Cayo Costa is an island off the coast of Fort Myers, just after 3 p.m.  Ian came in with 150 mph winds, the fifth-strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. Additionally, according to ABC News, “Ian then made a second landfall 90 minutes later, still as a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds, just south of Punta Gorda, near Pirate Harbor.”

Florida Department of Transportation did an amazing job getting Pine Island's bridge reconnected. The Sanibel Causeway is a much more difficult task. As you can see, Ian washed away several parts of the span.

That being said, the projection is still to have temporary fixes in place by the end of the month. Around 30 days after Hurricane Ian's landfall. Crews are working 24/7 to make this happen.

Currently, Sanibel residents reach the island by boat. There's also supplies delivered by helicopter. There's no power or water service on the island and a curfew remains in place. Sanibel is one of the most beautiful places in Florida. With a lot of work and determination, the island is rebuilding. Miami based Joe Raedle of Getty Images was on the island over the weekend.