Kids, teachers finally head back to school in Southwest Florida

School buses hit the road across Southwest Florida on Monday for the first time in six months, picking up our children for the first day of their somewhat normal routine as they head back to school.

For many parents, it can make for a stressful day, but the districts have spent weeks preparing and the kids are excited.

“My kids personally don’t get anything from virtual. They need the interaction and to be around other kids too,” said parent Lacey Doty.

“It’s so boring and I think it’s easier to learn in person because I was having a hard time on the computer,” said Christina Olea, a 7th grader.

In Lee County, a little over 40,900 students will be walking back into classrooms on Monday, and over 45,000 will either be homeschooled, doing Lee Virtual or Lee Home Connect.

Collier County’s public schools will see more than 24,000 students return to in-person learning on Monday.

For Charlotte County, 14,000 students will be returning for face-to-face learning, the district said, with 3,000 going virtual.

WINK News asked each district how many teachers they had lost, but they couldn’t provide exact numbers. Charlotte County said they didn’t see a significant loss.