When is it too hot to go to school?
Some campuses that just opened for the new year are closing because of heat.
In Virginia’s Pulaski County public school district, two campuses closed early Friday because of “extreme heat,” officials said.
In Baltimore City, where extreme weather in summer and winter has long created problems for aging and cash-strapped schools, the teachers union is seeking donations to buy hundreds of fans for the beginning of the school year Sept. 3.
The 2019-2020 academic year is just getting started, and already schools throughout the country are facing a big problem: searing heat and classrooms without air conditioning. It’s not just about comfort, researchers say, but about teachers and students being able to do their best work.
“If we want our students to do their very best, to tackle and master rigorous content, to imagine creative solutions to the complex problems of our world, we need to provide them with an environment where they can focus on the task at hand, rather than the sweat beading on their foreheads,” the Baltimore union said in appealing for donations on its website. It noted that schools’ internal temperatures have been measured at more than 100 degrees.
In Memphis, schools opened Aug. 12 amid an excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service as the heat index — what it feels like when humidity is factored in — rose above 110 degrees, hitting 115, and at least one campus closed. Athletic teams could not practice outdoors because the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association says no outdoor practice should be held if the heat index is above 104 degrees.
In Georgia, a 16-year-old female basketball player died following a conditioning drill at a Clayton County school during extreme heat. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the temperature reached 100 degrees that day. It also said the Georgia High School Association, the governing body for sports, prohibits outdoor workouts at 92 degrees. The cause of the student-athlete’s death is unknown.
School districts maintain their own weather guidelines, and officials — and sometimes principals — can make CONTINUE READING: When is it too hot to go to school? - The Washington Post
