INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — The damage to schools in Martin and Indian River counties was cleaned up and Monday kids returned to class.
Principal Rachel Finnegan at Beachland Elementary pointed out workmen repairing an exterior fence, and the extra police presence guarding the school perimeter. She said her campus got an unwelcomed makeover from Milton.
Beachland, along with schools like Murray Middle in Martin County, needed a lot of work done in a short period of time, to be ready Monday.
“Things can be rebuilt, but lives can’t be replaced, and we are just so fortunate to be here today,” Finnegan said.
Head custodian Robert Boone captured the damage on video of what it looked like after last week’s storm, with trees down everywhere.
On Monday, he stood in front of one of several 10-foot high piles of debris.
“When I got here and I seen the tree damage,” Boone said, “the first thing I thought is, I wonder how the buildings are.”
Fortunately, none of the classrooms at Beachland suffered any damage, and while an outdoor gazebo is taped off, and the shark mascot needs to be put back on the front office, it is business as usual.
One indication of how successful this day was. Fewer than 30 of the 535 students enrolled here, called out.
“It was a priority for us to make sure that all of our schools were open,” Superintendent Dr. David Moore said.
Moore said the anxiety leading up to, and after the storm, was extreme.
“So, the opportunity to get back with your friends, with your teachers and reconnect and tell your stories,” he said, “allows us to get everybody back to normal as soon as possible.”
And on the Beachland campus, school counselor Michelle Abdo said it will be important to listen to her kids, to see if extra help is needed.
“Have a welcoming place for students to return to, so they can hang up that feeling of stress and what they went through,” she said, “so they can let that go and they can feel loved, and normal and supported again.’”
