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School Community Closed by Dorian Gets iPad Shipment

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 10/02/19

A school shuttered by Hurricane Dorian in early September is receiving a shipment of Apple iPads to be used by students and teachers. Hyde County Public School's island-based Ocracoke School was displaced by the hurricane and has been closed ever since. Damage included flooding of every building on campus, with severe destruction to floors and walls. Also, staff and students faced significant flooding in their own homes and businesses and substantial vehicle loss.

In the intervening weeks, secondary students were able to attend classes at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, about a mile from the school. That's expected to continue until January 2020. Other buildings on the island will also be used for students during the recovery period.

The iPad shipment — 200 devices supplied by the State Board of Education —  are intended to help students "stay on schedule with their schoolwork until they can return to their school building," according to a statement from State Superintendent Mark Johnson's office.

"After the serious damage to Ocracoke School, it is important that the students miss as little instructional time as possible and get back to some sense of normalcy as quickly as possible," Johnson said. "By making these devices available and partnering with NCCAT and Hyde County Schools, we can help ensure that students stay on schedule until they can return to their regular classrooms."

Ocracoke School is a pre-K-12 school with about 185 students.