Duval County students pick up belongings left behind during spring break

Jacksonville, FL — This week, parents in Duval County are able to pick up their students belongings that have been left inside the school since spring break.

Because of COVID-19, students have not been back in the classroom -- instead they’ve had to transition to online classes.

On Tuesday, teachers and faculty waited outside in the rain as students picked up their items.

Emily Ellis and her mother Jodi stopped by Fletcher High School.

“I needed my volunteer hours that I left in the pottery room. Trying not to lose it and then, what do you know, spring break happened and I wasn’t able to come back,” Ellis said.

For now, the future of heading back in the fall looks uncertain for teachers, parents, and students.

The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, is meeting this week to look at how to re-open schools.

It will be forming two committees.

One group will be focused on Pre-K through 12th and another focused on colleges and higher education.

The next meeting is on Friday.

While Ellis is finishing up her senior year, she said she would like to see schools open up for her younger classmates in the fall.

She wasn’t a fan of online learning.

“I struggled through this online thing. Like, there’s a reason why I go to a physical high school and so I really want schools to take it a little easy on kids who had some problems in these last few quarters,” Ellis said.

Ellis said if students do return in fall, she’s hoping there will be stricter sanitation measures in place, masks and smaller class sizes in order to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Duval County will be having pickup times throughout the week.

It’s important to check with your child’s school to find out what day and time you can pick up their items.