FLORIDA, USA — As Tropical Storm Eta makes its way across the state of Florida from the Tampa area toward Northeast Florida, several schools have announced plans to cancel school and after-school activities due to the expected impacts from the storm.
Bookmark this link, where First Coast News will continue to update school closures as we learn them.
Florida
The Bolles School will be closed Thursday, "Out of an abundance of caution and with safety as a top priority." The closure applies to all four of its campuses. Classes are expected to resume Friday.
Bradford County Public Schools are closed Thursday, "due to potential flooding and the possibility of tornadoes" associated with Tropical Storm Eta.
Clay County School District announced schools will be closed and after-school activities will be canceled Thursday. The district plans to reopen Friday.
Columbia County Schools will be closed Thursday. All normal school activities will resume Friday.
Duval County Public Schools is switching to all-online instruction Thursday. All students who are currently enrolled in in-person instruction will need to log in to Duval HomeRoom.
According to a voicemail message to DCPS parents:
- Elementary school classes will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Secondary school classes will begin and end at their normal time.
- Students should plan to be online to begin classes at the appropriate time.
- All after-school activities are canceled, and there will be no school lunch service Thursday.
- Friday's classes and after-school activities are expected to resume as scheduled.
Flagler County Schools posted the following announcement on its website:
"Flagler Schools is working with our county emergency managers in response to the approaching weather system associated with what is now Tropical Storm Eta. After speaking with Jonathan Lord, Emergency Management Director for Flagler County, it appears our area will be spared the worst part of this storm.
We do not currently anticipate any impact on our school day Thursday, Nov. 12. However, there may be impacts on our after-school and extracurricular activities Thursday. We also ask our families who live in historically flood-prone areas to exercise extreme caution."
Florida State College at Jacksonville will continue normal operations Thursday. "If you need any accommodations due to an impact from the storm, please work with your individual faculty members," the college said in a message on Facebook.
Hope Christian Academy in Starke is closed Thursday due to weather.
Jacksonville Classical Academy posted the following message to its Facebook page:
"Out of an abundance of caution related to Hurricane Eta, Jacksonville Classical Academy will be closed Thursday, November 12. All classes are canceled.
Please continue to monitor weather forecasts and follow all recommended safety precautions. We will share additional updates with families and employees as new information becomes available."
Keiser University Jacksonville Campus will be closed Thursday, according to a Facebook post. Employees are to work remotely, and students scheduled to be on campus will have classes virtually. Online classes remain as normally scheduled. Updates will be posted to the university's website and the toll-free hotline 877-353-4737.
Putnam County Schools posted a message to its Facebook page saying "at this time District offices and Schools are scheduled to resume operations tomorrow morning and after-school extracurricular activities will resume as planned."
St. Johns County Schools will remain open for in-person classes Thursday. Extended Day will also remain in normal operations, the school district said.
"We certainly respect any personal decisions made by families and parents with regard to keeping children home tomorrow due to the expected inclement weather," the superintendent said in an email to parents, families and employees.
Union County School District posted the following message to its website:
"Due to the most recent projections of Hurricane Eta and out of an abundance of caution for our students and staff, the Union County School District will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. Students will return to school on Monday, November 16, since they were already supposed to be out on Friday, Nov. 13, due to a Staff Professional Development Day.
Faculty and staff are scheduled to return to work on Friday, Nov. 13. As of now, the football game scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, is still be played as scheduled. You will be notified of any changes. Please monitor the district website as well as your school's social media site for updates."
University of Florida classes are canceled and campus offices closed Thursday. The university will reopen Friday.
University of North Florida posted the following message on its website:
"UNF's Crisis Management Team is closely monitoring Hurricane Eta. Currently, Eta is expected to bring heavy rainfall and flash flooding to North Florida starting Wednesday night through Friday. UNF Physical Facilities is preparing the campus by clearing storm drains that will help alleviate standing water. If there is a change in the weather that would impact University operations, alerts will be provided through multiple channels including emails, text messages, phone calls, Safe Ospreys App notifications, social media, the UNF homepage and other communication methods as outlined on the Emergency Management webpage at https://www.unf.edu/emergency/."
Wayman Academy of the Arts will be closed Thursday for in-person learning. Instruction will take place via Wayman Academy Virtual Education. In-person learning will resume Friday.
Georgia
Camden County Schools posted the following message to its Facebook page:
"Camden County Schools is currently working closely with the National Weather Service and Camden County Emergency Management to track the path and potential impact of Hurricane Eta. The current path of the storm is not predicted to have a direct impact on our community but we will remain vigilant in tracking the storm and determining if we need to make any adjustments to plans for the school schedule.
We are currently planning to have school on Thursday, Nov. 12 and Friday, Nov. 13 as regularly scheduled. We will continue to track the storm and keep you updated if we need to make any adjustments to our regularly scheduled school day."