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After Irma, shuttered schools add more stress for families

Posted at 10:19 AM, Sep 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-16 10:19:17-04

MIAMI (AP) -- Students in two of the nation's largest school districts still don't know when they'll return to class, forcing many Florida parents to juggle childcare as they head into a second week of recovering from Hurricane Irma.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties had hoped to resume operations Monday. But dozens of schools in the two districts - which serve almost 700,000 students - are still without power. An announcement is expected this weekend.

The uncertainty is putting additional stress on parents trying to return to work.

Forty-five-year-old Lori Eickleberry took her 10-year-old daughter to her office. She said it's challenging, "but we kept busy with activities, some coloring."

In some southwest Florida districts, classes have been postponed until Sept. 25. In Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, students remain in limbo.