School districts in Central Florida are preparing for the worst as Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Caribbean and then shifted eastward Wednesday.
The powerful Category 5 storm maintained 185 mph Tuesday and Wednesday.
The scope of a threat to Central Florida is still unclear.
When you are the location at the 5th day of the cone, there are NO guarantees - none. Impacts are NOT known yet. https://t.co/cI30T9Dvv1
— Brian Shields (@BrianWFTV) September 6, 2017
Below is information on how school districts are preparing in anticipation of the storm.
Seminole County
The Seminole County School District said it is "closely monitoring" Hurricane Irma and will update parents and students on its website and social media pages.
— SCPS Info (@SCPSInfo) September 5, 2017
The district also said Friday night football games will be played Thursday night and Junior Varsity games will be played on Wednesday or will be rescheduled.
1/2: All Friday night football games will be played on Thursday night. This includes all home games and any away out of county games. pic.twitter.com/WeH71UVOzT
— SCPS Info (@SCPSInfo) September 5, 2017
2/2: Fr/JV games can be played on Wednesday or rescheduled to a later date.
— SCPS Info (@SCPSInfo) September 5, 2017
.@SCPSInfo releases list of schools that will serve as #HurricaneIrma shelters. pic.twitter.com/UDQ9GRf4CG
— Christopher Heath (@CHeathWFTV) September 5, 2017
Orange County
Orange County school officials said on Twitter they are monitoring the storm and consulting with Emergency Management officials.
Please be assured we are closely monitoring #Irma and consulting with the @NWSMelbourne and local emergency management offices. pic.twitter.com/9RUkDxMtUX
— OCPS News (@OCPSnews) September 5, 2017
The Sept. 9 administration of the ACT, scheduled to be given at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, has been canceled.
The rescheduled test date will be posted at www.actstudent.org as soon as it is set.
Registered examinees will receive official notification from ACT. The announcement is only for examinees registered at Lake Highland Preparatory School.
University of Central Florida and Rollins College
The University of Central Florida has canceled classes from Thursday to Monday.
#UCFAlert: Classes/programs cancelled Thursday, Sept. 7. Campus closed from Sept. 8-11.
— UCF Police Dept. (@UCFPolice) September 6, 2017
Updates: https://t.co/MBsocH0Dti. #HurricaneIrma pic.twitter.com/UfN5c3IUfV
This closure includes the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, Health Sciences at Lake Nona campus and Center for Emerging Media in downtown Orlando, all of which follow main campus closure protocols. UCF regional locations will follow the decisions made by their respective host state college.
Although university housing remains open at this time, UCF urges students who live on campus to move to safe off-campus locations by noon on Friday.
The University of Central Florida's football game against Memphis was moved to 6:30 p.m. Friday at Spectrum Stadium.
#UCFAlert: UCF's football game vs Memphis has been moved to 6:30PM Friday at Spectrum Stadium.
— UCF Police Dept. (@UCFPolice) September 5, 2017
Details: https://t.co/NF9tGjPoZj
Brevard County
Brevard County schools will be closed Thursday and Friday. School-related activities will be canceled.
BPS will be closed Thurs. & Fri. for #HurricaneIrma & will be closed until further notice. School-related activities will be canceled #Irma
— Brevard Schools (@BrevardSchools) September 6, 2017
District hq will be closed Thurs. & Fri. Updates to parents & staff via app, FB, Twitter, email & rapid notifications #HurricaneIrma #Irma
— Brevard Schools (@BrevardSchools) September 6, 2017
Volusia County
All Volusia County schools will be closed Friday and Monday. Several schools will open as shelters on Saturday; those schools and opening times will be announced by Volusia County Emergency Management. Any decisions regarding further changes to school schedules will be made on Monday.
All activities, events and programs scheduled for Friday through Monday are cancelled or will be rescheduled:
- All JV football games have been moved to Wednesday, Sept. 6, or rescheduled for a later date
- All varsity football games have been moved to Thursday, Sept. 7
- All weekend athletic competitions and practices and extra-curricular activities are cancelled
- The extended day programs at elementary schools will be closed on Friday, Sept. 8, and Monday, Sept. 11
- The ACT test scheduled for area high schools on Saturday, Sept. 9, has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. FSA retakes and EOC makeup tests have been postponed.
Fri. football games moved to Thurs. and JV games moved to Wed. or rescheduled to later date. All weekend activities cancelled, incl ACT test pic.twitter.com/FFzTD3OKdi
— Volusia Schools (@volusiaschools) September 5, 2017
Polk County
Polk County school will be closed Friday.
UPDATE: #Polk public schools and district offices to be closed Friday, Sept. 8 due to #HurricaneIrma. https://t.co/b4GKd2ZWg2 pic.twitter.com/JJjpXlqmz5
— Polk County Public Schools (@PolkSchoolsNews) September 6, 2017
Some Junior Varsity football games are being moved from Thursday to Wednesday, while Varsity football games were were moved form Friday to Thursday. All other sporting events scheduled for Friday or Saturday have been postponed, and will be rescheduled at a later date, the school district said.
We are closely monitoring #HurricaneIrma and will provide updates through social media and other channels. https://t.co/5sh7nG0WAV pic.twitter.com/2uZqw6eDos
— Polk County Public Schools (@PolkSchoolsNews) September 5, 2017
Lake County
Lake County school officials said on Twitter that they will notify parents via phone and social media on any scheduling updates.
Marion County
Marion County Public Schools will be closed Friday and Monday due to Hurricane Irma.
Osceola County
All Osceola district public schools will be closed on Friday and Monday. All school activities, events and programs scheduled for those days are canceled.
All schools will be in session Thursday as normal and current plans are for schools to reopen on Tuesday.
A number of Osceola schools are needed as early as Friday as shelters for residents in Osceola County, as well as for those Floridians evacuating from the south and coastal counties.
All Osceola district public schools will be closed on Friday, September 8, and on Monday, September 11, due to Hurricane Irma. pic.twitter.com/M4gM4zySPc
— Osceola Schools (@Osceolaschools) September 6, 2017
The following football games have been rescheduled from Friday to Thursday:
Poinciana at Liberty - 7:00 p.m.
Gateway at St. Cloud - 7:30 p.m.
Cypress Creek at Celebration - Double header
JV - 5:00 p.m. and Varsity - 7:30 p.m.-Waiting on confirmation regarding Osceola at Viera
JV games at Liberty and Osceola have been canceled.
Flagler County
No information has been released
Sumter County
No information has been released
Cox Media Group