As heat soars, Volusia County Schools prepare to welcome students back to school

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – As record-breaking heat stretches across Central Florida, students in Volusia County are heading back to school on Monday.

On Saturday, an 85-year-old temperature record was broken in Orlando when it hit 100 degrees. The old record of 98 degrees was set back in 1938.

Officials said crews throughout the county have been busy over the weekend making sure all of the classrooms stay cool.

A social media post by Volusia Schools read in part, “Maintenance Crews Working ALL weekend day and night to make sure our classrooms are cool and ready for our Scholars and Amazing Teachers this Monday on the First Day of School.”

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Last week, Dr. Carmen Balgobin, Superintendent of Volusia County Schools, posted a welcome message on the district’s Twitter page encouraging students and parents to attend orientations, reminding students to always wear their ID and highlighting some of the academic and extracurricular opportunities.

Like may districts in the state, Volusia still has a number of open positions throughout the county. According to the Florida Education Association, the state of Florida still has 7,000 teacher vacancies. In Volusia County there are 216 instructional vacancies open and 467 overall vacancies.

Volusia Schools also posted several reminders on its website for the new school year, including several new changes.

• Student use of all wireless communication devices is prohibited during instructional time unless express permission is granted by the teacher and only used for instructional purposes. This includes cell phones, tablets, ear buds, and smartwatches. All wireless communication devices must be stored in a backpack or purse during instructional time.
• Districts must develop procedures for a parent to specify any change from the child’s legal name in school, thereby ensuring transparency for parents.
• Students must use bathroom and changing facilities based on their biological sex at birth or use a unisex restroom. Students who violate the law will be disciplined in accordance with the procedures implemented in the school’s code of student conduct.
• Any student who violates the provision of the dress code policy that prohibits a student from wearing clothing that exposes underwear or body parts in an indecent or vulgar manner or that disrupts the orderly learning environment is subject to disciplinary action.
• Vapes, e cigarettes, nicotine, tobacco, and all drug products are prohibited on all school campuses and at all school functions which includes school transportation.

Volusia County Schools also released the following statement regarding the AP Psychology class in Florida.

"Volusia County Schools will offer either Cambridge AICE Psychology or IB Psychology to students

instead of AP Psychology. The shift will ensure that students have the opportunity to earn college credit.”

Volusia County Schools

Last week, Brevard Public Schools announced that it was canceling the first day of classes at Eau Gallie High School due to a power outage.

The district said in a statement on Facebook that its decision was prompted due to Florida Power & Light’s latest estimates that power would be restored at the school sometime in the early afternoon.

Power has been restored to the school, but the cause for the outage isn’t known.

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