BUFFALO, N.Y. — Heat in schools was not as much of an issue on Monday. But we are finding out there are a variety of approaches from school leaders and even state lawmakers as it heats up later this week in the classrooms.
Some outside activity in a shady site was part of the school day for kids Monday at Boston Valley Elementary in the Hamburg District. Superintendent Michael Cornell is keeping schools open through the heatwave to avoid childcare issues for parents in homes which may be just as hot as school and to maintain learning skills for the last few days of school. Here is his philosophy on the subject which may be shared by many other school districts. "We've had warm days in Western New York in June for school for probably 140 years since we've had organized school. So this is something we're relatively good at. So we have fans. we have air conditioners in some of our classrooms. Some of our spaces are air-conditioned. We're making sure the kids are hydrated. "
Cornell added "Every district has its own unique needs and its own unique challenges. And then for a lot of us who feel like we should be open, the reasons why we want to be open is to make sure that we don't leave parents in the lurch in terms of child care. That we aren't sending a child home in the afternoon to an apartment or a home that's not air-conditioned, without fans, without adult supervision."
But over the weekend we learned Buffalo Public Schools will have half-day sessions this week for grades pre-K through 8.. BPS high schools will be open for Regents exams and of course Wednesday all district schools are closed for Juneteenth.
The large Williamsville School District also announced early dismissal this week for elementary and middle schools. Again Williamsville high schools will be open for Regents.
And then Monday afternoon word came in that Lockport and Niagara Falls schools will also have just half days for elementary and middle schools. Again high schools will be open for Regents exams.
In Niagara Falls some of the city's schools have air conditioning. But Superintendent Mark Laurrie says there is another heat factor to consider for his decision. "2,000 of our elementary students take a bus. And those that don't have to walk. The buses are sitting in the hot weather all day and are not air-conditioned. And that 20-minute ride - 15 minutes - certainly could be unsafe for kids."
Now while school district leaders have local control, state lawmakers in Albany did pass the Heat in the Classroom Act which so far has not been signed by the Governor.
But it does lay out its requirements for schools perhaps to take effect shortly.
The issue was somewhat dramatized by the NYSUT teachers union by asking fully dressed lawmakers to sit in a sauna and take certain tests like students. So now the measure requires at 82 degrees in a classroom that shades or blinds be lowered and fans brought in. When it reaches 88 degrees students would be moved elsewhere in the school.
State Senator Sean Ryan of Buffalo who voted for it noted that "We've long had a minimum temperature so schools have to stay 65 in the wintertime. We know that kids can't learn whether it's a very cold or a very hot room. But you know there's the safety overlay. You know they've recorded classrooms last year where it exceeded 100 degrees."