DESOTO COUNTY, Fla. — In DeSoto County, schools are closed until further notice as crews continue working to repair the damage dealt by Hurricane Ian.
That leaves the days anything but normal for teachers like Jamie Adkins. On a typical weekday, Adkins would be teaching in front of her fifth grade students at West Elementary in Arcadia.
“I’ve already reached out to them,” said Adkins. “I actually have two that have lost everything.”
But right now, she and other families are keeping busy by helping collect and distribute donations at Padgett Ranch after the storm.
“We are a very close-knit community. Our small town, everybody knows everybody,” said Adkins.
Due to the flooding and damage to multiple facilities, DeSoto County schools are closed until further notice. DeSoto High School, which is the only high school in the district, had the worst of the damage.
“DeSoto High School had as much water as I could’ve imagined on a floor. In some places, a couple of inches, two, three inches deep in some of the areas,” said Bobby Bennett, the DeSoto County Schools Superintendent.
Bennett explained as it stands, the rough plan for the district is they’d like to have everyone in school on October 24 at the latest.
“We will have the high school kids that cannot get in virtually, we’re going to let them come into the middle school,” said Bennett. “We’re also going to use that as a tutoring time, and for those students that have internet access, we can do some one-on-one with Microsoft teams with those students at the high school.”
The plan is to be back in the high school November 7.
Crews are now working to repair any damage. Bennett said they’re also going to have an industrial hygienist go in each school to make sure they’re safe and free from mold.
In the meantime, Bennett said they’re trying to come up with plans to address the period of time students are out.
“Whatever gap exists, we’re going to try to address it, and we’re going to try to make sure that we hit the ground running on that first day of school at all of these schools,” said Bennett.
Until kids can walk back into the classroom, families in the community are coming together to lend a helping hand.
“We do what we do best and we reach out,” said Adkins. “Those that can help do, and those that need it ask.”