LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Students walked the halls of some Lee County Schools for the first time in three weeks.
The “lucky 13,” as Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier calls them, reopened Monday morning.
The district plans to open 15 more on Tuesday.
By Wednesday, more than half the schools in Lee County will be reopened.
“Coming back to school is another sense of normal. It’s not lost on me that a lot of these kids are coming from very different impacted situations. So are our teachers and support professionals,” Bernier said.
In order to reopen safely, each school must clear nine criteria.
That includes having reliable power, potable water, working A/C and the ability to serve food.
The district is hoping to have most of the buildings reopened by Friday.
However, students at three schools that took extensive damage, Fort Myers Beach Elementary, Hector Cafferata Jr. Elementary and the Sanibel School, will be transferred to other schools.
Starting Wednesday, students from Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel will attend San Carlos Park Elementary.
Cafferata students will be split between two Lee County schools.
Students aged K-2 will go to Hancock Elementary School.
The district hasn’t yet announced where students aged 3-5 will attend.
“The district is doing everything we can to bring everything back on,” said Bernier.
“We have six schools right now that we’re waiting on to be cleared on Thursday. When that happens that will allow Hector Cafferata and their students to also return back to a building.”
The following schools will open to students on Monday, October 17, 2022:
- Bonita Springs Elementary
- Bonita Springs Middle
- Colonial Elementary
- Diplomat Elementary
- Franklin Park Elementary
- Gulf Elementary
- Fort Myers Middle
- Orange River Elementary
- Orangewood Elementary
- Three Oaks Elementary
- Tice Elementary
- Trafalgar Elementary School
- Tropic Isles Elementary School
The following schools will open to students on Tuesday, October 18, 2022:
- Allen Park Elementary
- Buckingham Exceptional Center
- Cypress Lake High
- Edison Park Elementary
- Hancock Creek Elementary
- Ida S. Baker High
- J. Colin English Elementary
- James Stephens Elementary
- Lee Virtual School
- Littleton Elementary
- Manatee Elementary
- Pinewoods Elementary
- Royal Palm Exceptional Center
- Tanglewood Elementary
- Three Oaks Middle
- Villas Elementary
The following schools have been cleared to reopen to students on Wednesday, October 19, 2022:Please review the list as more schools were added over the weekend.
- The Alva School (Added Friday, October 14)
- Bayshore Elementary (Added Friday, October 14)
- Bonita Springs High School (Added Friday, October 14)
- Caloosa Elementary (Added Sunday, October 16)
- Cape Elementary
- Cape Coral High
- Cape Coral Technical College
- Challenger Middle (Added Friday, October 14)
- Cypress Lake Middle (Added Sunday, October 16)
- Dunbar Community School (Added Sunday, October 16)
- Dunbar High
- East Lee County High
- Edgewood Elementary
- Estero High School
- Fort Myers High (Added Sunday, October 16)
- Fort Myers Technical College (Added Sunday, October 16)
- G. Weaver Hipps Elementary
- Gateway Elementary
- Gateway High School (Added Friday, October 14)
- Harns Marsh Elementary
- Harns Marsh Middle
- Island Coast High
- Lehigh Acres Middle (Added Friday, October 14)
- Lehigh Elementary
- Lehigh Senior High
- Mariner High
- Mariner Middle (Added Friday, October 14)
- Mirror Lakes Elementary
- North Fort Myers Academy of the Arts (Added Sunday, October 16)
- Oak Hammock Middle
- Patriot Elementary
- Pelican Elementary
- Public Service Academy
- Ray V. Pottorf Elementary
- Rayma Page Elementary
- River Hall Elementary
- Riverdale High
- San Carlos Park Elementary
- South Fort Myers High
- Southwest Florida Public Service Academy (Added Sunday, October 16)
- Spring Creek Elementary
- Success Academy (Added Sunday, October 16)
- Sunshine Elementary
- Tortuga Preserve Elementary
- Trafalgar Middle (Added Sunday, October 16)
- Treeline Elementary (Added Friday, October 14)
- Varsity Lakes Middle
- Veterans Park Academy for the Arts
The following schools have been cleared to reopen to students on Thursday, October 20, 2022:
- Fort Myers Beach Elementary***(Note: Fort Myers Beach Elementary students will start at San Carlos Park Elementary)
- The Sanibel School***(Note: The Sanibel School students will start at San Carlos Park Elementary)
