JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Amid concerns about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, the Florida Department of Education is advising schools around the state to shut down for two weeks, districts say.
It's part of a larger effort to limit the spread of the virus.
For many First Coast area schools, the instructions mean they'll be extending their spring breaks. Most of the schools in the area are on spring break the week of March 16-20.
Here's our current list of school closures:
DUVAL
- Duval County Public Schools is extending its spring break through March 22.
- The Bolles School is closing its four campuses beginning Saturday to all but boarding students, resident families and essential personnel. Students will take scheduled courses through the school's distance learning program beginning Wednesday, March 25. The length of the closure is not known, but it will be a minimum of two weeks following spring break, expecting to return to school Monday, April 6..
- Jacksonville Country Day School has decided to suspend campus activities and move to remote learning until March 30, following spring break.
- Episcopal will move to its Remote Learning Protocol beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 23, through Friday, March 27. Extracurricular events, practices, and rehearsals will be canceled for the week of March 23. Directors and coaches will provide guidance for individual teams and groups during this remote learning protocol. Local athletic contests scheduled before March 23 will continue as planned unless further changes are needed. Our plan at this time is to resume class on campus beginning Monday, March 30.
- FSCJ will be extending spring break for students for one week, through Sunday, March 22. During this time, all faculty and staff will report to work and we will take this opportunity to further sanitize all of our common areas and give our faculty and staff time to move toward a fully online learning environment.
CLAY
Clay County Schools announced the district will close for the next two weeks starting March 16 through March 27. March 30 was scheduled as a Teacher Planning Day and school is expected to resume on March 31.
FLAGLER
Flagler County School District announced it will take an additional week off after spring break, returning to school March 30.
WARE
All locally planned or sponsored Ware County School System activities taking place through this weekend will be canceled due to concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19.
The SAT exam scheduled for Saturday, March 14th at Ware County High School in Waycross, GA has been postponed until Saturday, March 28th. Students registered to take the exam will be notified by the College Board and should check the email with which they registered for additional information.