Hurricane Ian’s after effects are long but finished with some students without internet access at home, leaving them unable to do school work outside of the time provided in class. 

At Cape Coral High School, teachers and administrators have been understanding of students’ needs and different situations, making sure to accommodate those without internet access at home.

“Teachers have been advised to email counselors about any students that are in distress and have any issues relating to the storm,” said Assistant Principal Troy Beall. “Every kid has different needs, so we’re now thinking about the needs and helping as best we can,”  

Any student out of internet or power has been instructed to speak to their school counselor to discuss their situation; however, Cape High has been working to administer hotspots to students in need.

 “We have hotspots that we’ve given out,” said Beall. “We gave them out to some of the schools that were damaged, and they had a couple of schools that went back online for a couple of weeks. They’re [administrators] gathering hotspots from schools to give to those students in those schools.”

Junior Brennan Washington, like many others at Cape High, is still without internet access at home, “My teachers have been mostly giving classwork and paper assignments instead of homework,” said Washington. “Despite not having internet, I would say I’m handling it pretty well.” 

Freshman Sydney Island is another Cape High student who suffered the effects of no power but just recently got it back. “I went to my aunt’s house up in Miami to get an internet connection while it was down but we came back after hearing the internet would be back up soon,” said Island.

Some students won’t have their internet back until as early as 2023. “The internet company said we won’t be getting our internet connection back until next year,” said Washington.

 If students are not able to get a school loaned hotspot they are recommended to go to any area providing free, public wifi, such as coffee shops, the library, or some fast food chains. If students cannot travel to a place with free wifi, they are asked to alert their teacher about their circumstance. 

Freshman Sydney Island is another Cape High student who suffered the effects of no power but just recently got it back. “I went to my aunt’s house up in Miami to get an internet connection while it was down but we came back after hearing the internet would be back up soon,” said Island.

Teachers who are giving out homework to students without wifi at home have been providing extensions for due dates to assist with students’ needs, “They [teachers] let me do my homework for a longer period of time to help accommodate for no internet,” said Island.