Heat hitting schools

The Guardian -   As schools are returning to session following one of the hottest summers ever recorded, districts are faced with a new problem: how to handle increasingly extreme heatwaves, both in and outside the classroom.

Unbearably hot days are no longer just a summer problem. In the US districts from the north-east to the mountain west to the deep south are shortening days, delaying openings, and reworking calendars as temperatures spike during August and September, the typical back-to-school months.

A handful of potential methods for protecting students from extreme temperatures have been put forward, including modernizing HVAC systems, creating more shade on playgrounds, swapping their blacktop surfaces for grass and, perhaps most provocatively, reworking school calendars. There’s even some talk of replacing summer vacation with a spring or fall break, if schools can be kept cool enough, when homes for some students may be hotter.

School schedules are already beginning to shift. New York City recently urged schools to move end-of-year activities indoors during a June 2025 heatwave. Philadelphia dismissed students early at more than 60 campuses during late August 2024 because buildings lacked adequate cooling.

Detroit also cut days short in the first week of the 2024–25 school year as heat indices climbed. In Colorado’s Poudre school district, most schools announced two-hour early releases for 14 and 15 August due to high temperatures. In June, the notoriously cold state of Alaska had their first statewide heat advisory.