Duval, Clay, St. Johns, other schools cancel after school activities as storms threaten

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Because of expectations for extreme weather impacting the Jacksonville area late Thursday, Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Ware counties have canceled all after school activities, including extended-day programs.

For Duval County and most other districts, the cancelations include:

• All athletic events and practices
• Extended day
• Team up and other after school programs
• After school arts programs
• Clubs and any other extracurricular activities
• Parent events
• Community meetings
• Alternative certification professional development classes

School hours will run as normal, and students who are bus riders will be placed on the buses to bring them home after school. Parents and guardians are asked to make sure children can get home safely from their bus stops

Students who are normally walkers will be released as usual. Students who normally go home by car or with approved individuals and those who normally stay for extended day or Team-Up will be held at school until an approved individual arrives to escort those children home.

Normal school hours for all schools can be found on this webpage: dcps.duvalschools.org/domain/5275

“While we do understand that the decision to cancel activities creates a burden for parents, the safety of students and staff is always our goal,” DCPS said in a news release. “The weather forecast for this evening is expected to bring conditions unsafe for outdoor events and student transportation.”

Clay County, St. Johns and Ware counties have also canceled all after-school programs and News4Jax is hearing from some private schools that are also canceling after-class activities. The University of North Florida, Florida State University and Florida A&M campuses in Tallahassee are also closing early and canceling evening classes. Check their web pages or social media for exact times.

As of 11 a.m., no other school systems in WJXT’s viewing area have posted any announcements of closing early, but some individual schools have contacted News4Jax about canceling after-school activities.