GALVESTON -- Hurricane Ike may have damaged many of the Galveston Independent School District's schools and nearly destroyed all of its buses, but students and teachers went back to work Tuesday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

The Houston Independent School District loaned Galveston up to 50 buses for as long as it needs to get students to school. Teachers will report to school at 6:15 a.m. all this week to make sure students are headed in the right direction.

"They need to get back to a sense of normalcy and this will do it for them," parent Ella Curran said.

Parker Elementary School reopened, but the campus is being shared with Burnett Elementary students. Burnett still needs a little bit more cleanup, but the principal of Parker Elementary said they're ready for students to get back to work.

"We will acquire about half the staff and students from Burnett. We are one family. This is Parker and Burnett, but we are all GISD and they're all our kids," Principal Melvin Bouldin Jr. said.

Alamo Elementary remained closed Tuesday, but the school's grounds are being used to help residents. A "tent city" has been set up to give shelter to hundreds of residents whose homes were destroyed or too damaged to return to.

Before Ike, more than 7,600 students attended Galveston ISD schools. Officials have not said how many students returned on Tuesday.

More than half of the island's 12 schools reopened.

It's still uncertain if the students will have to make up the entire three weeks of school they missed because of Hurricane Ike.