School’s still out for some Tampa Bay students thanks to Helene
When Pinellas County students return to school Monday, children from two schools swamped by Hurricane Helene won’t be joining them.
“Two of our schools suffered severe damages,” schools superintendent Kevin Hendrick said Sunday during a news briefing outside Madeira Beach Fundamental K-8. “Both schools will take months to repair.”
Children attending Madeira Beach Fundamental K-8 and Gulf Beaches Elementary, both of which sit right on the coastline, will have Monday and Tuesday off while their school leaders prepare alternate plans for their classes.
Students at one Pasco County school — West Pasco Education Academy in Hudson — also won’t be in their campus, which was hit by flooding. District officials said they would contact each family to discuss plans for the alternative school.
All Hillsborough County schools are reopening Monday, spokesperson Tanya Arja said. They experienced only minor damages during the storm.
The plans quickly shaped up for the shift to accommodate the Pinellas students displaced by Helene.
Starting Wednesday, the nearly 1,400 students who attend Madeira Beach Fundamental will be split between two different campuses. The elementary-aged children will take classes at Walsingham Elementary, about 7 miles to the north of their usual campus. The middle-school-aged students will take classes at Osceola Fundamental High, about 2 miles south of Walsingham.
About half the students at Osceola previously attended Madeira Beach, and district officials said it was a goal while considering options to keep families as close together as possible during this period.
To handle the influx, both Osceola and Walsingham will move to modified double sessions, with the Madeira Beach students beginning around noon, after the other students leave for the day.
The approximately 300 Gulf Beaches Elementary students also will move, but will not see their schedule disrupted in the same way. They will attend school at Disston Academy, about 4 miles away on the mainland side of Gulfport. The 70 children who go to Disston will instead travel to Lealman Innovation Academy, a similar alternative school about 6 miles to the north.
The district will provide child care services for affected families from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at Tyrone Middle School. Families do not have to register in advance, but must sign in at the site.
The major problem with the two damaged schools came in the form of electrical systems overcome with sea water, Hendrick said. A team from Duke Energy was already onsite Sunday, but Hendrick said he expected the repairs to take months.
The schools also had water rise 3 to 4 feet inside classrooms. Despite sitting on the water, Hendrick said, “it never got into the classrooms in the last couple of decades. This is unprecedented.”
The principals of both schools said they would be ready when everyone returns.
“We’re ready to reunite our families and begin the restoration of community,” said Gulf Beaches principal Bob Kalach.
Madeira Beach principal Chris Ateek said the schools recognize the struggles many families have experienced. He said he hoped getting back to the routine of school, as families are able, will help them all.
Students will remain with their teachers and classmates, both said, noting that is a critical piece of the recovery.
“If everything is an emergency, nothing is an emergency,” Ateek said. “So we’re going to treat everything with ease.”
Hendrick said he understood that many families are being disrupted, particularly at Osceola High which will start classes before 7 a.m. It could be problematic, he acknowledged.
“Of course I’m concerned. But it’s temporary,” Hendrick said. “Look at the big picture. Small sacrifice for a couple of months is all we are asking.”
More details are available on individual school websites.
Jeffrey S. Solochek is an education reporter covering K-12 education policy and schools. Reach him at jsolochek@tampabay.com.
School’s still out for some Tampa Bay students thanks to Helene