South Florida schools back in session

Districts still deciding how to make up lost time

It was back to school and back to normal on Monday.

All South Florida public schools reported having power — and good attendance by teachers and students.

Hurricane Irma disrupted seven days of classes, but that won’t affect Thursday’s scheduled day off for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

Districts are still deciding how to make up the time lost to Irma. Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Robert Avossa plans to make a decision within the next couple of weeks; Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said he plans to get direction from the Florida Department of Education.

Runcie said he visited seven schools Monday and was impressed by their conditions.

“The custodians and maintenance staff really stepped up,” he said. “Our schools looked great, and there were no operational issues that prevented schools from functioning as normal.”

At Santaluces High, west of Lantana, the school band drumline performed as students returned Monday morning, teacher Michael Woods said.

“I had a great day. I started out joking around with the students by asking them how their summer vacation was? Did they do anything fun?” said Woods, who teaches biology and special education.

Throughout Palm Beach County, “principals tried to pull out the steps to welcome students back,” district spokeswoman Kathy Burstein said. “People were really eager to get back to normal.”

Miami-Dade County school officials said schools were ready for the students to return.

“Teaching and learning resume,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho tweeted. “Great day

JOE CAVARETTA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER State law requires schools to be in session for 180 days a year, but it can be cut to 170 days if schools offer at least 900 hours of instruction, which most schools in South Florida do.