How hot is too hot for school?

[MoniqueU]

I live in inland southern california too. It gets damn hot here. I have heard once or twice they limited activities at the elementary school but that was only because my DD got a refferal for jumping off a planter box on a high heat day. I am not sure what they think the kids do all summer? They bike run, jump, swim etc. We have air in all our schools but the lunch benches at the public Jr high are outside and not shaded. Last week it was 108 here and they still held football practice at my sons private school. Some of the kids end up throwing up in the heat. I have drilled it into my kids head that if he doesn't feel good he needs to not tough it out and stop and get some water. Nothing like that has ever happened to him thank goodness. Sometimes if it is hot they make practice time later in the day last night it started at 6 and he was home after 10 and that didn't make me too happy either.

My main beef with the public and private schools is air quality. We have massive forest fires every year. Last year was the worst, their was ash all over my back yard./ They still held school and PE. Even without fires we have poor air quality that isn't healthy to be out in. I stopped watching it on the news because it would just tick me off. My kids don't have asthma thank god but even for able bodied people this air isn't good. I never worry about second hand smoke as the air outside is much worse. I have known 2 people that grew up in our area that came from non smoking homes and died of lung cancer. Our area has a higher rate of that I believe.

 

[pumba]

I am in Maine and some schools (not ours of course) closed because of the heat..96 with a heat index of 110.....we had the same heat problems but because our city (many years ago) stated if you start off the day in school there were no early dismissals because to many kids would not have anyplace to go until the right time......so if we have a nor'easter come down on us with a foot or more in three to four hours the kids stay...and if it is 100 degrees...the kids just sweat and have some extra water breaks........there was no recess yesterday for the kids here.

 

[Rora]

I'm from Florida. It almost always reaches the upper 90s with a heat index over 100 degrees in the summer months (April-September). Granted, we have AC in all our schools but we never have cancelled a day because it was so hot.

 

[DeniseinNS]

I am in the Halifax area as well (Cole Harbour) I agree that the heat here is insane with the humidex. I had heard that they were thinking of cancelling today due to the heat but decided against it. Hopefully the kids will do ok at school today.

 

[nikkistevej]

Our kids here in Baltimore (county) got out 2 hours early for heat. If it isn't a snow day- it's a "heat" day. LOL

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Well around this area (and I'm sure in many other areas of the country), many schools, especially older ones, aren't prepared for the type of weather we're having now. Schools historically didn't reopen from summer until well after Labor Day (on or around my bday, so I know the week well) for this very reason, but now they're restarting in mid to late August. At least around here, there can be a significant weather difference between the two time periods.

Hey Evi, I remember driving down the highway hanging out the back of our station wagon at 80mph when I was a kid. Just because we did it back then doesn't mean we haven't developed common sense about some things now.

Give em a few bucks to buy a Popsicle or ice cream bar at lunch.

 

[PixieFan]

In Arkansas, in the early 80's, my Jr. High didn't have ac. We started school in the middle of August. The first two weeks were always 8-11 because it was SO hot! By the beginning of Sept. it was usually ok. It was a great way to get used to the school year

 

[MoniqueU]

Oh also to all those with kids that go to school with no AC that is BS. This is one of the things that ticks me off about the education system, the inequality. I live in the best part of the city almost all the schools are less then 10 years old and they have every ammenity possible. My kids jr high has FOUR computer labs, dance dance revolution machiness and multiple plasma tvs. My husband and I disagree strongly on this. I think this crap while nice is a waste of taxpayer money. They don't hire a second spanish teacher so all the kids that want spanish can take it but they waste money on that crap??? And lord forbid if you live in a long established neighborhood anywhere in the country, your schools don't get half the crap we do and no AC??? That is not right. They need to trim the fat and spend money where it is is needed on more teachers and better facilties. They sent out a notice that they were closing the pool bathrooms this summer and only keeping the football bathrooms open. To cut costs. Yes i know my state is in a crisis but hawk a plasma and pay for the things that matter.

 

[daughtersrus]

My DD is a SpEd teacher. She doesn't have a classroom but the temp in her office was 110 yesterday. She has a fan but it's only blowing around hot air. The temps in the classrooms weren't much better. They're on the second floor. This is about 90 miles west of Chicago.

Our local schools have air conditioning but when they began building them in the 70's, the students went year round so they had to have air conditioning. Even though they stopped year round school quite some time ago, all of the new schools that have been built in our district also have air. I'm sure that there would have been a huge out cry if some schools in the district had air while others did not.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It's a wonder you're not all flaking out with heat exhaustion. I'm a school nurse. In my last school I really had to sit on my PE teachers who would insist on having the kids play flag football or run track in 95 degree heat for 90 minutes at a crack. And the principal wondered why they'd end up in the clinic after PE. I did a booming business is water and cool rags (an deodorant!) Here in Atlanta, our ozone levels are usually in the "Unsafe for children and sensitive groups" during the summer and early fall. At least in my current school the admins limit the kids' outdoor time to 20 minutes on the really hot days. I haven't had a single case of heat exhaustion this year.

I had to chuckle at the bolded - yesterday was the first time DS12 ever had BO. (And was also the first time he was meticulous with his shower and deodorant application himself - I think he was and which isn't a bad thing. )

 

[mjkacmom]

I am in Maine and some schools (not ours of course) closed because of the heat..96 with a heat index of 110.....we had the same heat problems but because our city (many years ago) stated if you start off the day in school there were no early dismissals because to many kids would not have anyplace to go until the right time......so if we have a nor'easter come down on us with a foot or more in three to four hours the kids stay...and if it is 100 degrees...the kids just sweat and have some extra water breaks........there was no recess yesterday for the kids here.

We don't have early dismissals here either, but if there is a blizzard, you are free to pick your kids up. No AC here, and I don't recall school being cancelled for heat in the past 40 years (and it was a pretty hot June here).

 

[pooh4evr]

I don't think we have ever been called for heat even a couple of weeks ago when iit was up to 115 heat index- our district elem kids go back in mid-July so all the schools have AC- they don't have outdoor recess if the heat index is above 100 (I think) - the busses don't have ac but they are only on them foe maybe 30 min max, and they get a drink anda cool wet towel for the ride, and there is extra staff on the bus when it is hot. Now some of the private schools that don't have AC get out early on hot days usually by noon.

 

[SC Minnie]

We've never canceled school due to heat. Growing up none of the elem schools had AC and neither did the high school (built in the early 60's). There were fans in the rooms and the teachers could open some of the windows. They always pulled the blinds closed too to keep the sun out.

All of our local schools now have AC.

 

[HelenePA]

Oh also to all those with kids that go to school with no AC that is BS. This is one of the things that ticks me off about the education system, the inequality. I live in the best part of the city almost all the schools are less then 10 years old and they have every ammenity possible. My kids jr high has FOUR computer labs, dance dance revolution machiness and multiple plasma tvs. My husband and I disagree strongly on this. I think this crap while nice is a waste of taxpayer money. They don't hire a second spanish teacher so all the kids that want spanish can take it but they waste money on that crap??? And lord forbid if you live in a long established neighborhood anywhere in the country, your schools don't get half the crap we do and no AC??? That is not right. They need to trim the fat and spend money where it is is needed on more teachers and better facilties. They sent out a notice that they were closing the pool bathrooms this summer and only keeping the football bathrooms open. To cut costs. Yes i know my state is in a crisis but hawk a plasma and pay for the things that matter.

it would be a waste for us! Heck we need more classrooms NOT A/C!! Its VERY unseasonably warm right now for us.. and we get out June 2nd when temps are stilll in the low 80's for a high.. I'd kill my school district if they spend millions and millions of dollars on AC when my son doesn't even have a friggin classroom!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

This district's closings were in the news today:

HUDSON, N.H. -- The Hudson School District has canceled classes for Thursday because of expected high heat.

School officials said there will be no school, including morning and afternoon kindergarten. Thursday was supposed to be the third day of school this year.

Teachers at Alvirne High School said the beginning of the school year has been a lesson in heat endurance.

"It's hard to maintain focus for me and the kids," said English teacher Suzanne Callis.

"I'm trying to stay cold, and we can't wear shorts or tank tops, and all I have is jeans, and I'm, like, dying," said freshman Kristie Boulette.

A thermometer taken to a third-floor classroom approached 90 degrees within minutes of being set down on Wednesday. Principal Bryan Lane said the heat is disrupting instruction.

"The beginning of the day's not too bad, but as it gets warmer in the afternoon, ... it gets hard to focus for 50 minutes," he said.

Lane said he bought 20 fans in the spring, but there's not much they can do to battle this kind of heat. The school district said 4,100 students across all schools will get the day off Thursday.

"I've been a superintendent for 22 years, and this is the second time calling school off for heat," said Superintendent Randy Bell. "And to have these temperatures just as we're starting school is extraordinary."

Bell said most parents seem to be supportive of the decision.

The closure will be the start of a long weekend for Hudson students. Friday was a scheduled day off, so they won't return to class until after Labor Day

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/weather/24842222/detail.html

 

[HelenePA]

Sorry I think this post is so funny. When I was a kid and yes I was once a child hard to believe. No seriously we didn't have ac's in the class rooms they would just open the windows and when it was hot you could drink water in class that really was about it. Maybe they would cancel phys ed or sports. I went to camp too and they didn't send us home when it reached 100. I think if your really worried for your child because of a health condition or other reason maybe you should request to walk your child into school and see for yourself if you think its unbearable. I think if you dress your child appropriately and send them with a few bottles of water they will be ok. Give em a few bucks to buy a Popsicle or ice cream bar at lunch.

you think schools are allowed to sell Popsicles or ice cream? We are also in uniforms.. shorts to the knees and polos.. the girls can wear skirts but they have shorts under them its its like adding another layer of clothes to them... welcome to 2010...

 

[mommasita]

We only reached 100 today with the humidity. Things are looking up

On a side note, 2 children in 6th grade at my DD's school passed out yesterday in the classroom. They had just had gym. I only know this, because I picked up my DD personally, and it had just happened about 10 minutes prior, so it was chaotic.

We don't have the weather to justify the cost of A/C. With the weather patterns changing, I wonder if they will consider this next year, and perhaps go back to the "olden days" of returning after Labor Day. It would be like California getting snow plows..

We have one day left (so they say) and then we will have some major weather to change it up.

Only high school children can leave the grounds to go to the store. My DD11 in grade 6, can most definitely NOT, and anything sold in our schools is healthy food. DD said they get gave them extra water, aside from the water they bring in.

I can understand the cold delay now, thanks for letting me know. The buses not starting was something I had not thought of. I think ours are just used to -30....

Well, hopefully we all make through this ok. So far so good. I love the weather, but realize that it is not healthy for many people.

 

[marcyinPA]

It was extremely hot here in PA this week, and my DS11 goes to a very old middle school with no a/c. Well, some rooms have window a/c units, but others, including the gym and the cafeteria, have none at all. It is HOT in his building. Miserably hot. I had sent my DS to school with bottled water, and his teacher said NO. UGH. So, they pretty much go all day long with very little fluid. And our dress code is shorts to the knee, no bare shoulders.

In answer to your question, our district NEVER cancels because of heat. NEVER.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Here in CT, we started school on Tuesday. It was something like 97 degrees on Tuesday and 95 today. No air conditioning in the schools. My daughter said it was ridiculously hot. No talk of cancellations.....

In CT as well, we started Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Today DS8 had a scheduled 1/2 day but they canceled outdoor recess. Thankfully his classroom is in the basement so he was fairly comfortable. Luckily our kids can wear shorts.

DS9s school canceled at 10:30 but had to wait for the buses. They left at 12:45, would have been nice to get a phone call. I just happened to be driving by to get DS8 when I saw the buses leave with kids on them. No A/C in the building except for the gym and office. They moved all the kids to the gym while they waited for the buses and parents, of course once you get that many bodies in one space the A/C only works so well but it was better then nothing.

DS14's school didn't let out early nor did they cancel after school sports. Today was the second day of school though so DS said they didn't do much. And coach had them training in the weight room instead of running for Cross Country.

 

[We_Love_Disney]

anything over -25* :rofl2: