@ How Extreme Heat Is Threatening Education Worldwide

[pixy0stix]

Gift link - www.nytimes.com/2024/08/14/climate/extreme-heat-floods-education-schools.html?unlocked_article_code=1.C04.CLYT.rMAZfFLQR8br&smid=url-share

(B)ased on media reports, the United Nations Secretary General’s office recently estimated that at least 80 million children were out of school in 2024 because of extreme heat alone.

Climate shocks on schooling matter all the more because of the huge progress that’s been made in education in recent decades. School enrollment has grown sharply, and literacy rates have improved as well. That progress seems to be stagnating.

[katfco]

I know the article was focused on international effects, and those are more extreme than in the US (mostly). One of the problems at least in the US is that the old buildings were built without AC but also without consideration of heat. The elementary schools I've taught in had windows that opened at an angle, not allowing a breeze in. Rooms that faced the blacktop started heating up at 8 AM and are roasting by the afternoon.

One spring when I was teaching 5th grade, it was oppressively hot, and to make matters worse, it was during Ramadan, so half of our students were fasting during school. We were expected to do state testing. On the super hot days, my co-teacher and I combined both classrooms, put all the fans in 1 room and made "cool zones". The students were comfortable, but there was a wall of heat at the doorway. We didn't even bother teaching at that point.

And then there are the newer buildings with AC--but without windows that open, so when the AC goes out, it's like an oven.

We need to change how the buildings are designed with climate change in mind, at the very least.

[pixy0stix]

Aug 14, 2024 11:32:53 GMT -5 katfco said:

I know the article was focused on international effects, and those are more extreme than in the US (mostly). One of the problems at least in the US is that the old buildings were built without AC but also without consideration of heat. 

I have a timely stat for my school district since they just sent out the info today regarding early release/closures for heat. 32 out of 49 schools here do not have air conditioning. I found the study they completed last year regarding the cost to upgrade all the facilities, and it will cost the district $268 million. The current budget is $800,000 per year for building upgrades, which includes ALL upgrades, not just HVAC.

[tacokick]

I am not surprised at all. I think this might lead to a push to really rethink the school schedule.

As for the US I find it so odd that so many schools have started going back so early in August. We always went late in June when it was still relatively cool and back after Labor Day. We didn’t have air conditioning and we’d get heat days but nothing like we would if we were in school in August when we’d routinely get a couple of weeks of highs well into the nineties and 100°+. Why are we sending kids to school during the hottest days of the year? The energy toll alone seems like it would be a lot.


ETA my brother went to middle school in the “new, modern” building with air conditioning and there were virtually no windows at all, just escape doors—it was a weird one floor tubular building. They were closed all the time because the air conditioner didn’t work. At least we had windows that opened and fans.

[kitty]

Our elementary school has window units in one classroom for each grade level (in case of a kid with a documented medical need) and the electrical system cannot support adding any additional classrooms. The teachers used to leave the doors open so they could potentially get a cross breeze or some of the air conditioning from the room across the hall but since Sandy Hook they have to leave the classroom doors closed and locked so there's less air flow. Our middle school is two floors without AC and DD told me last year that a para passed out from the heat in one of the second floor classrooms during the first week of school

[imimahoney]

I taught in a building with no ac. In new england it wasn't really necessary until now. We have 6 heat days over the past 3 years.

New building opens in 2 weeks. It has ac but the windows don't open so we are screwed when it eventually breaks.

[erbear]

Aug 14, 2024 11:53:31 GMT -5 tacokick said:

I am not surprised at all. I think this might lead to a push to really rethink the school schedule.

As for the US I find it so odd that so many schools have started going back so early in August. We always went late in June when it was still relatively cool and back after Labor Day. We didn’t have air conditioning and we’d get heat days but nothing like we would if we were in school in August when we’d routinely get a couple of weeks of highs well into the nineties and 100°+. Why are we sending kids to school during the hottest days of the year? The energy toll alone seems like it would be a lot.


ETA my brother went to middle school in the “new, modern” building with air conditioning and there were virtually no windows at all, just escape doors—it was a weird one floor tubular building. They were closed all the time because the air conditioner didn’t work. At least we had windows that opened and fans.

I still don't understand this. Why do the southern states get out so early but go back in August? It's hot as hell in August. People always say "schools don't have a/c" but that is more reason to change the schedule. I don't get it.

[Susie]

We have a comparatively late-shifted school year, running this year from Sept 5 to June 25.  This past June we had early dismissal due to heat for about a week at the end of the year.  I think it's 50/50 whether you're more likely to see that in late June or late August here.

Only 1 of the 7 school buildings in our district has a/c.  They use that building for summer school for obvious reasons, but they don't use the a/c during the school year out of a sense of fairness (I guess?) to the other buildings.  I've been in the middle school (no a/c) in the late afternoon on heat-release days, and it is oppressive.  Retrofitting for a/c would be so so so expensive though.  I'm not sure how you fund it, in addition to other major infrastructure needs, like upgrades to our water and sewer systems.

[tacokick]

Aug 14, 2024 14:47:53 GMT -5 erbear said:

Aug 14, 2024 11:53:31 GMT -5 tacokick said:

I am not surprised at all. I think this might lead to a push to really rethink the school schedule.

As for the US I find it so odd that so many schools have started going back so early in August. We always went late in June when it was still relatively cool and back after Labor Day. We didn’t have air conditioning and we’d get heat days but nothing like we would if we were in school in August when we’d routinely get a couple of weeks of highs well into the nineties and 100°+. Why are we sending kids to school during the hottest days of the year? The energy toll alone seems like it would be a lot.


ETA my brother went to middle school in the “new, modern” building with air conditioning and there were virtually no windows at all, just escape doors—it was a weird one floor tubular building. They were closed all the time because the air conditioner didn’t work. At least we had windows that opened and fans.

I still don't understand this. Why do the southern states get out so early but go back in August? It's hot as hell in August. People always say "schools don't have a/c" but that is more reason to change the schedule. I don't get it.

It is truly perplexing! August is always neck and neck with July as the hottest month of the year.
It seems public health, environmental and budget friendly to not have kids in school then and roll the dice on June and September.

[ellipses84]

My kids are back in school already, the earliest it’s ever been. There were reasons for the calendar adjustment but they clearly didn’t consider the impacts of climate change and the fact that August is the hottest month of summer. Nearly all of the schools have outdoor circulation between classrooms, and many classrooms don’t have A/C. Apparently they aren’t allowed to do outdoor activities when it’s above 80 degrees, which it has been all week and will probably be that hot for another month, and they don’t have adequate indoor space for PE.

[wesleycrusher]

Aug 14, 2024 11:53:31 GMT -5 tacokick said:

I am not surprised at all. I think this might lead to a push to really rethink the school schedule.

As for the US I find it so odd that so many schools have started going back so early in August. We always went late in June when it was still relatively cool and back after Labor Day. We didn’t have air conditioning and we’d get heat days but nothing like we would if we were in school in August when we’d routinely get a couple of weeks of highs well into the nineties and 100°+. Why are we sending kids to school during the hottest days of the year? The energy toll alone seems like it would be a lot.


ETA my brother went to middle school in the “new, modern” building with air conditioning and there were virtually no windows at all, just escape doors—it was a weird one floor tubular building. They were closed all the time because the air conditioner didn’t work. At least we had windows that opened and fans.

June isn't any less hot nowadays! My kids go from the last week in August until mid-June. They had to switch to virtual learning for multiple days in June this year- the district switches to virtual learning for all schools without air conditioning (which is the majority) if temps hit 85 degrees. We are in PA

[Michelle]

Aug 14, 2024 15:12:19 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Aug 14, 2024 14:47:53 GMT -5 erbear said:

I still don't understand this. Why do the southern states get out so early but go back in August? It's hot as hell in August. People always say "schools don't have a/c" but that is more reason to change the schedule. I don't get it.

It is truly perplexing! August is always neck and neck with July as the hottest month of the year.
It seems public health, environmental and budget friendly to not have kids in school then and roll the dice on June and September.

Our schools in the south have a/c. By starting in August, we actually help kids get into cooler environments than many of their homes, especially for poorer kids. And then in late May/Early June, they can enjoy the outdoors with their families including local parks, beaches, etc. If they are able to vacation, they can take road trip vacations in temps that are tolerable. No one wants to be out in August.

My kid and I went to the beach last Friday. The guy renting umbrellas and chairs was so thankfully we came by because we were his first customer of the day at NOON. (I didn't plan to go at the worst time of day but we had several delays so we went with it and forked over the $$ for beach umbrella rentals when not in the water).

[tacokick]

Aug 14, 2024 15:54:34 GMT -5 Michelle said:

Aug 14, 2024 15:12:19 GMT -5 tacokick said:

It is truly perplexing! August is always neck and neck with July as the hottest month of the year.
It seems public health, environmental and budget friendly to not have kids in school then and roll the dice on June and September.

Our schools in the south have a/c. By starting in August, we actually help kids get into cooler environments than many of their homes, especially for poorer kids. And then in late May/Early June, they can enjoy the outdoors with their families including local parks, beaches, etc. If they are able to vacation, they can take road trip vacations in temps that are tolerable. No one wants to be out in August.

Do the ACs in schools in your area typically work? We see a lot of news about more southern schools opening in August and then closing again because the ACs are broken and they can’t open windows and the article says “Even in the United States, around half of all school districts need to install or fix their air conditioning systems, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.”

If the children need to be in school to be cool then why wait until August to go back? Why not start in July (typically the hottest month) and get out earlier in spring?

[pixy0stix]

You know what would help most of this in the US? Proper funding for education and facilities. The end. We can talk all we want about changing the school year, blah blah blah, but that's a bandaid. And really, it won't even help for much longer. So unless we stop being lazy shits and driving our kids 1/2 mile to school just so they can get more sleep (aka actually DO SOMETHING about climate change), and also yell at our respective state govs to fork over money for school infrastructure instead of paying for kids to go to charter school, it's only going to get exponentially worse.

Oh look, I was able to tie both my hot button issues into one. Well done me.

[Velar Fricative]

Aug 14, 2024 11:52:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 14, 2024 11:32:53 GMT -5 katfco said:

I know the article was focused on international effects, and those are more extreme than in the US (mostly). One of the problems at least in the US is that the old buildings were built without AC but also without consideration of heat. 

I have a timely stat for my school district since they just sent out the info today regarding early release/closures for heat. 32 out of 49 schools here do not have air conditioning. I found the study they completed last year regarding the cost to upgrade all the facilities, and it will cost the district $268 million. The current budget is $800,000 per year for building upgrades, which includes ALL upgrades, not just HVAC.

This might sound dumb but I often wonder if it's just cheaper to demolish an old school building and rebuild from the ground up with current HVAC needs rather than retrofitting the old building with brand new HVAC. But I admit I know almost nothing about this subject, so I'm likely oversimplifying.

[Velar Fricative]

I don't think adjusting the school year will help with this particular problem. Personally, I think summer vacation should be a thing of the past anyway because it's getting impossible to be outside for weeks or months at a time in a lot of places, and so much for enjoying the great outdoors during summer vacation/camp. Probably should be fall vacation or spring vacation instead and kids can be in (air-conditioned) school when it's 120 degrees outside in July. And realignment won't help when there are simply more days where it's brutally hot anyway, they still have to schedule school X amount of days per year.

As an aside, in my lifetime we've always started our school year here after Labor Day, and that is still the case. When we went shopping for first day of school outfits when I was kid, our outfits would consist of long-sleeved shirts and pants, and that was comfortable every first day. Now, I laugh at the thought of getting long sleeves and pants for my kids for their first day of school on September 5th. They'll be wearing their summer clothes through the end of September most likely.

Obviously, with the above I'm speaking about the US. I can only imagine how awful it is for students in the tropics.

[al dente]

Aug 14, 2024 16:29:45 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

You know what would help most of this in the US? Proper funding for education and facilities. The end. We can talk all we want about changing the school year, blah blah blah, but that's a bandaid. And really, it won't even help for much longer. So unless we stop being lazy shits and driving our kids 1/2 mile to school just so they can get more sleep (aka actually DO SOMETHING about climate change), and also yell at our respective state govs to fork over money for school infrastructure instead of paying for kids to go to charter school, it's only going to get exponentially worse.

Oh look, I was able to tie both my hot button issues into one. Well done me.

I'm part of our schools PTO, and the DOE paid to install AC, but does not cover any upkeep or repairs so that is all on the PTO to cover. I was shocked to find that out.

[dontlook]

Aug 14, 2024 18:33:44 GMT -5 al dente said:

Aug 14, 2024 16:29:45 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

You know what would help most of this in the US? Proper funding for education and facilities. The end. We can talk all we want about changing the school year, blah blah blah, but that's a bandaid. And really, it won't even help for much longer. So unless we stop being lazy shits and driving our kids 1/2 mile to school just so they can get more sleep (aka actually DO SOMETHING about climate change), and also yell at our respective state govs to fork over money for school infrastructure instead of paying for kids to go to charter school, it's only going to get exponentially worse.

Oh look, I was able to tie both my hot button issues into one. Well done me.

I'm part of our schools PTO, and the DOE paid to install AC, but does not cover any upkeep or repairs so that is all on the PTO to cover. I was shocked to find that out.

The stuff the PTO covers is WILD!

[macmars45]

I agree with you Velar Fricative. It didn't dip into the 70s until the middle of October last year in central WA state. From the beginning of July until the end of September it was upper 90s-low 100s.

[Michelle]

Aug 14, 2024 16:19:59 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Aug 14, 2024 15:54:34 GMT -5 Michelle said:

Our schools in the south have a/c. By starting in August, we actually help kids get into cooler environments than many of their homes, especially for poorer kids. And then in late May/Early June, they can enjoy the outdoors with their families including local parks, beaches, etc. If they are able to vacation, they can take road trip vacations in temps that are tolerable. No one wants to be out in August.

Do the ACs in schools in your area typically work? We see a lot of news about more southern schools opening in August and then closing again because the ACs are broken and they can’t open windows and the article says “Even in the United States, around half of all school districts need to install or fix their air conditioning systems, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.”

If the children need to be in school to be cool then why wait until August to go back? Why not start in July (typically the hottest month) and get out earlier in spring?

Yes, but this may be a sign of my privilege and area where I live. I don't read a lot about area school a/c's not working, but then again there is so much going on in the biggest school district around here that serves underprivileged communities, that might not be rising to the top. Houston ISD being taken over by the state and having their superintendent causing turnover of over 10,000 employees, converting libraries to detention centers, and more is consuming the headlines. When I read about a/c not working it is usually associated with power outages and the lack of good infrastructure there, thankyouverymuch texas and Centerpointless.

[basilosaurus]

Aug 14, 2024 17:44:53 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Obviously, with the above I'm speaking about the US. I can only imagine how awful it is for students in the tropics.

I can kinda speak on this. In the schools where I've taught in the tropics, it really wasn't as awful as I'd expect it to be in much of the states.

Classrooms are built with airflow in mind with fully open windows on both sides and fans. Temps are nearly the same year round, so students are fully acclimatized, and they likely don't have a/c at home, either. I lived without if for awhile, too, and I mostly was ok.

At least in this part of the tropics, we don't get the extreme heat that much of the us faces. An extreme heat day is about 100* heat index. I've seen higher, sure, but that's kind of the cut off for normal bitching about heat vs taking precautions which are mostly shade and a fan.

My local pub has freezing to many of us air con, and if there aren't tourists in there, we regulars will often ask to turn it off (it's also open to the outside, so we'll sit closer to the door). I've taken a light coat many times, because they set it in the mid 70s, and that's way too cold. It reminds me of when I lived in Hawaii riding the public bus. You knew who was tourist and who was local because tourists were dripping with sweat, so red, and locals were in layers because those buses are cold!

Contrast that with a baking classroom at way about 100 heat index and no windows and inadequate fans.

I'm not minimizing the very real impact rising heat has and will have in these places. I'm just observing that the tropics are possibly better prepared than places with swings in seasons and no experience or tradition that affect their architecture. Places like new england or pnw that never have had to concern themselves I feel might fare worse.

[wawa]

Aug 14, 2024 18:47:10 GMT -5 dontlook said:

Aug 14, 2024 18:33:44 GMT -5 al dente said:

I'm part of our schools PTO, and the DOE paid to install AC, but does not cover any upkeep or repairs so that is all on the PTO to cover. I was shocked to find that out.

The stuff the PTO covers is WILD!

I am AGHAST. We arent allowed in my county to even consider touching school infrastructure as a PTA. We wanted to raise money for a playground upgrade ahead of schedule and they flat out told us no. It is against county BOE policy for a PTA to pay for anything more long term or permanent than a laminating machine.

[ksun]

Aug 14, 2024 11:52:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 14, 2024 11:32:53 GMT -5 katfco said:

I know the article was focused on international effects, and those are more extreme than in the US (mostly). One of the problems at least in the US is that the old buildings were built without AC but also without consideration of heat. 

I have a timely stat for my school district since they just sent out the info today regarding early release/closures for heat. 32 out of 49 schools here do not have air conditioning. I found the study they completed last year regarding the cost to upgrade all the facilities, and it will cost the district $268 million. The current budget is $800,000 per year for building upgrades, which includes ALL upgrades, not just HVAC.

I'm really shocked by this because our district in the same state is one of the lowest funded districts and ALL our schools have AC