South Florida school districts announce closures as Hurricane Ian approaches

Miami-Dade County and Broward County public schools will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday because of Hurricane Ian, superintendents said Tuesday.

In the Florida Keys, which has been battered by Ian’s winds and storm surge, Monroe County public schools were closed Tuesday and will be closed Wednesday. A decision about whether schools will be closed Thursday would likely be made Wednesday, a county spokesperson said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Miami-Dade and Broward school districts had not decided whether schools would be open on Friday. School officials in both districts said Tuesday the districts will likely decide Thursday.

Archdiocesan schools in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties will also be closed Wednesday, a representative from the Archdiocese of Miami confirmed to the Herald.

The decision to close Miami-Dade schools was made, in part, because of the large number of students the district transports daily and the students who walk to school, Superintendent Jose Dotres said Tuesday at a press conference held by county leaders.

Factoring in tropical weather wind, he said, contributes significantly to officials’ decision-making process.

READ MORE: These Florida public schools, state colleges and universities are closed as Ian nears

The Miami-Dade district on Monday had announced it would remain open Tuesday, but canceled all after-school activities and athletics. After-care will remain open on Tuesday, officials said.

As for Broward, Superintendent Vickie Cartwright announced Tuesday morning in a video posted on Twitter that the operations would shut down Wednesday. Shortly after, during a press conference at noon, she added that the school district had also decided to follow Miami-Dade’s schools and close Thursday as well.

Like Miami-Dade, Broward schools also opened Tuesday, but the district canceled evening activities. The schools will still provide after-school care Tuesday, but Cartwright asked parents and guardians to pick up students as quickly as possible.

All Broward school sites and activities will be suspended for Wednesday and Thursday.

This story was originally published September 27, 2022 at 11:11 AM.

Jimena Tavel

Miami Herald

786-442-8014

Jimena Tavel covers higher education for the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald. She’s a bilingual reporter with triple nationality: Honduran, Cuban and Costa Rican. Born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, she moved to Florida at age 17. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2018, and joined the Herald soon after.

Sommer Brugal

Miami Herald

Sommer Brugal is the K-12 education reporter for the Miami Herald. Before making her way to Miami, she covered three school districts on Florida’s Treasure Coast for TCPalm, part of the USA Today Network.