If a storm is threatening, there’s a good chance schools will close - usually around the time a storm watch has been issued for the area.

School districts may send recorded telephone messages to students’ homes to say when schools will close and when they’ll reopen.

You also should monitor TV, radio and newspapers and school websites.

Schools might close a day or two before a storm’s landfall so they can be converted into shelters.

After the storm, classes might not immediately resume. After Wilma, some schools were closed for weeks.

Even if your child’s school is undamaged, if several others are inoperable, managers might opt to keep all schools closed to prevent a districtwide imbalance of school days.

It might take a while to repair the damage done to schools and clean up all the debris caused by the storm and by the people using the schools as shelters.

Some schools will be too damaged to use anytime soon and others will have to be converted or students shifted to other schools.

Some schools will have generators, but power will need to be restored.

Buses also might need to be repaired and roads they travel must be free of debris and have working traffic signals.