Hurricane Beryl Leaves 60 Houston ISD Schools Damaged, Summer Programs Disrupted

In the wake of Hurricane Beryl's rampage through Houston, the aftermath leaves Houston ISD grappling with the effects on its facilities and the disruption to its summer school programming. According to a Houston Public Media report, an "overwhelming majority" of the district's 274 campuses lost power when the Category 1 hurricane hit the city. While some power has been restored, 70 schools are still in the dark as of Friday morning, and 60 have sustained roof or structural damages.

Despite the closure of all HISD campuses this week and scaling back on services like the summer meals program, officials are determined to quickly reassess the status quo. "We are working diligently to address these issues and ensure the safety and well-being of our students and staff," HISD remarked in an official statement, signaling an aggressive approach to firstly serve summer school students next week, and then to begin preparations for the 2024-25 school year.

The educational disruption is further complicated by the district's decision to not extend the summer school calendar despite the closures. The closure has reduced this year's planned 22-day summer school down to roughly last year's 15 days, as per Houston Chronicle. Students from campuses without power are being rerouted to other sites, with the district pausing its summer programming at several campuses due to the outages.

Elsewhere, other districts such as Cypress-Fairbanks and Magnolia have implemented varying changes in response to the hurricane's disruptions. Cypress-Fairbanks is adjusting the endpoint for certain courses, whereas Magnolia ISD special education students receiving extended year services will simply have to add an extra hour to their school days, as well as attend on Friday for four hours to make up for lost time. Humble ISD remains closed.