School closures: Lee, Collier schools assessing damage following Hurricane Ian

As assessments are made across Lee and Collier counties following Hurricane Ian, schools are announcing further closures.

Evangelical Christian School in Fort Myers is closed until further notice due to storm damage.

"The school sustained some damage and is currently without water and power," the school posted on their website Thursday. "We will update you as soon as we have more information. For now, school is cancelled until we can restore power and are assured the school is safe."

Lee and Collier County Schools are closed Friday. Florida Gulf Coast University is closed through Oct. 5.

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Lee County School District

Schools will be closed through Friday, according to the district. District offices will also be closed. All after-school programs and extra-curricular activities are suspended.

Superintendent Christopher Bernier said Thursday evening schools may not be open come Monday. This district is assessing schools on Friday.

The district will evaluate its instructional calendar to decide what dates will be used as hurricane make-up days.

The school district said it will continue to monitor the storm and update families regularly with emails, phones calls, text messages, messages on its website and posts on its Facebook page.

Collier County School District

Schools will be closed the rest of the week, according to the district.

All school district sites will be closed, all after school-programs canceled. All extracurricular activities including athletic practices and competitions are cancelled. All adult and community education classes will be cancelled. All district leases will be suspended.

"In order to reopen schools, the number one priority is we need electricity to be restored and schools need to be cleaned so the spaces are safe and ready for teaching and learning," spokesman Chadwick Oliver said Thursday night. "That being said, we do not anticipate schools being closed for an extended period. Collier County Public Schools has a limited number of essential staff who are working to assess our facilities and prepare schools for reopening."

The district will decide before 1 p.m. Sunday on the district's operations for Monday.

At this time, there will be no hurricane make-up days. Hurricane make-up days would be Nov. 21 and 22. Fall break at this time remains Nov. 21-Nov. 25.

"Collier County used eight of our school sites as shelters of last resort for approximately 1,500 people who had nowhere else to go," Oliver said. "This is part of the responsibility and mission of neighborhood public schools. You take care of your neighbors." 

The latest information can be found on the website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Florida Gulf Coast University

FGCU is closed through Wednesday, Oct. 5

• FGCU is only open to activated essential personnel or residential students sheltering on campus. All other students, faculty, staff and the general public are asked to avoid all campus locations until further notice.

• The emergency shelter for residential students will remain open until further notice.

• Students are prohibited from occupying the residence halls until we can ensure they are safe and able to be occupied.

• Classes, regardless of modality, as well as meetings and events are canceled through Wednesday, Oct. 5.

Updates can be found on their website.

Nikki Ross covers education for the Fort Myers News-Press and Naples Daily News. She can be reached at NRoss@gannett.com, follow her on Twitter @nikkiinreallife, Instagram @reporternikkiinreallife or TikTok @nikki.inreallife.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee and Collier schools assessing damages following Hurricane Ian