°ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳

School & District Management

The School Year Is Off to a Hot Start—Again. What Districts Need to Know

By Caitlynn Peetz — August 27, 2024 3 min read
Judah Boyle, of Des Moines, Iowa, splashes water as he runs on the beach at Gray's Lake Park, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

The school year is off to a blazing start—literally.

High temperatures have stifled the early days of the school year in several cities, forcing some to dismiss students early or call off classes altogether to beat the heat.

Temperatures eclipsed 100 degrees in some areas of the Midwest and Northeast on Monday, and heat warnings and advisories were issued for several states, from Oklahoma to South Dakota to Ohio. Several schools in the Detroit area released students early on Monday—for some, .

Dozens of schools in Philadelphia as temperatures were slated to soar into the 90s.

Many of the affected schools don’t have adequate cooling systems. A nationally representative EdWeek Research Center survey conducted in the summer of 2021 found that educators in the North (20 percent) were far less likely than educators in the South (88 percent) to report that all of their buildings had air conditioning, underscoring the stark regional divide in districts’ preparedness for increasingly common extreme heat.

Some other districts that didn’t release students early, such as Chicago, still canceled outdoor recesses and athletic practices. The heat wave was expected to move toward the South and East later in the week, .

The phenomenon is nothing new. Climate change has led intense summer heat to last well into the fall months and start earlier in the spring, notably in regions that aren’t used to hot weather. The 2023-24 school year started similarly for the Northeast.

See Also

Students beat the heat by eating lunch outside on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, on the front Steps of South Philadelphia High School in Philadelphia, Pa.
Students beat the heat by eating lunch outside on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, on the front steps of South Philadelphia High School in Philadelphia, Pa. Dozens of city schools closed early the first week of September due to the heat.
Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP
Student Well-Being The School Year Started Off Hot. Experts Say It Wasn't a Fluke
Caitlynn Peetz, September 8, 2023
4 min read

Heat can interrupt learning and disrupt students’ emotional regulation

Unexpected closures to kick off the school year throw an early wrench into districts’ carefully crafted plans to begin classes strong and continue their work to offset the persistent academic regression students experienced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is widespread consensus among education researchers that the more time students spend in classrooms, the better, so missing instructional time, no matter the reason, can be consequential.

But what if the classroom is stiflingly hot?

Stuffy classrooms can hurt students’ ability to focus and learn. Students perform worse on tests when they’re hot, according to multiple studies by economists R. Jisung Park and Joshua Goodman, among others.

Heat can also make people more impulsive and less able to regulate their emotions and behavior, which could lead to increased conflict and bullying among students, researchers say.

See Also

With only open windows and fans to cool the room down, students enter their non-air-conditioned classroom at Campbell High School in Ewa, Hawaii, on Aug. 3, 2015. Most of Hawaii's public schools don't have air conditioning, and record-high temperatures have left teachers and students saying they can't focus because of the heat. Hawaii lawmakers are saying it's time to cool Hawaii's public schools. A proposal being considered by the House Committee of Finance would fund air conditioning for Hawaii Department of Education schools and expedite the process to get cooling systems installed in classrooms.
Only open windows and fans cooled the room as students arrived at Campbell High School in Ewa, Hawaii, in August, 2015. Most of Hawaii's public schools don't have air conditioning, even as research shows that heat can depress student learning.
Marco Garcia/AP

Schools should prioritize HVAC upgrades now

To beat the heat in the short term, schools should make sure students have water bottles accessible to them at all times, install shades on windows, use more fans, and educate staff and students about the signs of heat exhaustion, experts say.

Longer-term, districts need to make the costly, but necessary, investments to bolster school infrastructure to withstand extreme heat. That could include updating heating and cooling systems and air filtration systems. One expert told EdWeek last year that 41 percent of schools need their HVAC systems updated or replaced.

It’s an investment that would add up to billions of dollars cumulatively in districts across the country, but could pay dividends in the years to come.

See Also

School girl waiting for bus, with backpack, with hot sun beating down.
iStock/Getty

A report published in 2021 by the Center for Climate Integrity, a left-leaning environmental advocacy organization, estimated that 1,815 school districts—serving about 10.8 million students—will see three more weeks of school days with temperatures over 80 degrees in 2025 than they did in 1970.

Experts estimate the United States will see an increase of nearly a month’s worth of annual extreme heat days, with temperatures topping 90 degrees, by 2050 relative to 1976-2005, according to , a liberal-leaning public policy and research organization. Much of the Southeast could experience an increase of 40 to 50 extreme heat days, according to the report.

The authors called on the federal government to provide heat safety guidance for children that schools can adopt, and expand data collection about school infrastructure so federal officials can take better stock of schools’ heat-related facilities needs.

Attorneys general from 13 states and Washington, D.C., in July, which would free up federal money from disaster declarations that local governments, including school districts, could use to prepare and respond.

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum Big AI Questions for Schools. How They Should Respond 
Join this free virtual event to unpack some of the big questions around the use of AI in K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳'s editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in Schools
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳'s editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Spark Minds, Reignite Students & Teachers: STEM’s Role in Supporting Presence and Engagement
Is your district struggling with chronic absenteeism? Discover how STEM can reignite students' and teachers' passion for learning.
Content provided by 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School & District Management Principals Polled: Where School Leaders Stand on 10 Big Issues
A look at how principals responded to questions on Halloween costumes, snow days, teacher morale, and more.
4 min read
Illustration of speech/thought bubbles.
DigitalVision Vectors
School & District Management Opinion You’re the Principal, and Your Teachers Hate a New District Policy. What Now?
This school leader committed to being a bridge between his district and school staff this year. Here’s what he learned.
Ian Knox
4 min read
A district liaison bridging the gap between 2 sides.
Vanessa Solis/°ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳ via Canva
School & District Management The 4 District Leaders Who Could Be the Next Superintendent of the Year
Four district leaders are finalists for the national honor. They've emphasized CTE, student safety, financial sustainability, and more.
4 min read
Clockwise from upper left: Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat, superintendent of the Peoria Public School District 150; Walter Gonsoulin, superintendent of Jefferson County Schools; Debbie Jones, superintendent of the Bentonville School District; David Moore, superintendent of the School District of Indian River County.
Clockwise from upper left: Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat, superintendent of the Peoria school district in Illinois; Walter Gonsoulin, superintendent of Jefferson County schools in Alabama; Debbie Jones, superintendent of the Bentonville, Ark., school district; and David Moore, superintendent in Indian River County, Fla. The four have been named finalists for national Superintendent of the Year. AASA will announce the winner in March 2025.
Courtesy of AASA, the School Superintendent's Association
School & District Management 3 Tips for Districts to Maximize FEMA Funding After a Natural Disaster
District leaders who have been through natural disasters stress the need for thorough documentation, even if it seems excessive.
5 min read
Close up of FEMA paperwork
iStock/Getty