Sarasota charter school that’s helped thousands needs the community’s help rebuilding after Hurricane Milton

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Published  November 15, 2024 5:16pm EST
FOX 13 News
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Sarasota charter school needs help rebuilding

FOX 123's Kim Kuizon reports on a Sarasota charter school that needs the community's help rebuilding after back-to-back hurricanes.

SARASOTA, Fla. - A Sarasota school is turning to the community after Hurricane Milton so it can continue being a resource for the area. 

Students and families of Suncoast School for Innovative Studies have a lot of heart. The Sarasota County charter school focuses on every student. 

"We encourage open-minded, creative, critical thinkers who want to collaborate," Principal Fayth Jenkins explained. 

Some of their work has changed due to circumstances out of their hands following Hurricane Milton. 

"When we came on campus right after Milton, it was devastating," said Jenkins. 

The building, which the school has called home for 15 years, sustained major wind and water damage. 

READ: Medium level of red tide detected at Manatee County location after Hurricane Milton

"All of our books were wet. They were sitting in water," Jenkins said. "We lost shelving, furniture, school supplies. Two of our classrooms had to move and take whatever was available that wasn’t damaged to other spaces on campus. We had to get things off of fences, we had vegetation in classrooms. It was absolutely devastating to have to clear out the outside from the inside of our campus." 

Bayside Church helped clean up the campus along with volunteers and staff, but Principal Jenkins said there is still a lot of work to be done. 

READ: Tampa cleaned up more than half of the city's hurricane curbside debris: 'Please stay patient with us'

"Between replacing the roof, replacing furniture, supplies, and windows. We just really need the community’s support to help ensure we can keep our programs going for our families," she shared. 

The school will have to pay most of the costs to repair damage to the building because it has a high insurance deductible.

Principal Jenkins holds onto faith, knowing their school has impacted thousands of lives over 25 years. She’s hopeful the community will come together for them. 

"Everyone has faced devastation. Everyone is trying to make sure they’re able to do everything they can. We want to continue to be that resource, and we need the community’s help to do that," said Jenkins. 

Click here to learn more about the Suncoast School for Innovative Studies. 

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