MIAMI – It's back to school for students in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
After missing seven school days because of Hurricane Irma, students were returning to the classrooms Monday morning.
"It was like a mini-spring break, but with a lot of cleaning up," student Anna Konrad said.
Schools were closed all last week while Florida Power & Light worked to restore electricity to millions of customers throughout the state. Students haven't been to class since schools closed Sept. 7.
"We expect some degree of discomfort, but we believe that normalcy is restored with our public school system coming back into session," Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.
Although electricity has been restored to all Broward County Public Schools, Superintendent Robert Runcie knows that's not the case for every family.
"We are providing free breakfast and free lunch for every student at every school for the next several weeks," Runcie said.
The same meals will be provided for students in Miami-Dade County.
Carvalho urged parents to walk their children to the bus stops or school because of the hazards left behind by the storm.
"I'm asking parents and all drivers to be careful as you approach schools," Carvalho said.
Some parents said just getting to school is still a challenge. Many residents living near Northeast 199th Street in Miami-Dade County were still without power Sunday. They pointed to a downed power pole with dangling wires across the busy street as a concern.
Isaac Bendrao and his family were staying with relatives, making it harder to get the children prepared for school and to the carpool on time.
"We have to go back and forth to grab all the things and to make sure they're ready and wake up at least an hour before the normal wake-up time," he said.
Richmond Heights Middle School was still without power Sunday night, but students were escorted by staff across the street to Coral Reef Senior High School.
"We're asking parents to continue to be patient with us," Carvalho said. "I know that there are still about 45,000 individuals in Miami-Dade without power. We're being patient with you as well. The best place for kids to be at this point is in school, in a cool environment with hot food and great teaching."
