One hundred Philadelphia School District schools will close early Tuesday and Wednesday because of predicted high temperatures, officials announced Monday night.

The schools, all of which lack adequate air-conditioning units to cool all teachers and staff, will close three hours early. After-school and sports activities at those schools will also be canceled.

The rest of the district’s schools will stay open on a normal schedule, as will district offices.

“We realize that early dismissals, especially those made the day before, can present challenges for many families. Please know that these decisions, which we do not make lightly, are always made with the safety of our students and staff as our top priority,” officials wrote in an email sent to families and school communities.

COMBS, Ky. — Robin Combs has been teaching math for more than three decades, muscle memory guiding her as she reaches for the right lesson plans, confident in what works and how best to reach her middle school students. But when floodwaters surged through Robinson Elementary School last month, the roof collapsed on her classroom and three decades’ worth of curriculum materials were destroyed.

Now, like dozens of her colleagues, Ms. Combs finds herself starting over. On a recent Friday, she was among a handful of teachers cobbling together donated supplies and cleaning out a former elementary school that will now serve teachers and students from two schools wrecked by the floods. Though her own family had running water for just one day in just over three weeks, she was focused on ensuring that her school would reopen by early September.

“I just want our kids back together and for eight hours a day, be normal — just normal,” Ms. Combs said. “They’re cool, they’ve got a seat, they’ve got food. I don’t have to worry for eight hours a day.”

This school year was supposed to mark the return of long-awaited normal, after two years in which the coronavirus pandemic cut classes short and, for a time, forced students and teachers online. But just as custodians finished polishing the tile floors and teachers began laying out the new supplies, floodwaters surged through eastern Kentucky, sweeping away the Chromebooks and covering decades of class pictures in mud and mildew. At least 39 people died in the floods, including a few children and a beloved school custodian.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp stated on Tuesday that he will use $125 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to establish school-based health facilities.
“This innovative initiative is consistent with our continued efforts to reduce costs and enhance access to excellent healthcare coverage for everyone, particularly those in rural Georgia,” Kemp said in a statement.
It’s Kemp’s latest use of federal funds as he campaigns for reelection against Democrat Stacey Abrams. It’s also another illustration of how Kemp may use his office’s position to help his campaign against Abrams, especially because Georgia law gives him total control over federal monies.
Democrats criticise Kemp for distributing funds while opposing the COVID-19 relief proposals enacted by Congress. He has also declined to seek an increase of state-federal Medicaid health care coverage to include all people.
The state Department of Education will award funds of up to $1 million each to establish health clinics that will serve kids as well as community members in some situations. The goal is to improve students’ physical and emotional health while also satisfying their dental and visual requirements.
 

After 16 years of making do with fans and buckets of ice water, Andrew Saltz finally has air conditioning in his classroom, the week before Philly public school students return to start the academic year.

The critical new amenity exists thanks to almost three years of hard work and community activism, the teacher said.

“There are so many things in a classroom that you can’t control, that can go wrong,” said Saltz, who teaches English and computer science at Paul Robeson High School in West Philadelphia. “Having one less thing to worry about… Theoretically, no matter what goes wrong, I don’t think we’re going to overheat.”

Teachers, parents and students have been fighting for renovations and upgrades to the building at 42nd and Ludlow streets since COVID forced schools to close, seeing the transition to virtual learning as an opportunity to get renovations done. They circulated petitions, met with school district leaders and invited politicians to Robeson to raise awareness.

Some D.C. public school students may return next week to buildings that lack working heating and cooling systems. Additionally, some students may be unable to return at all to classes due to missing key vaccination requirements.

Why it matters: DCPS and DC Health were required to report on the readiness status of schools by Aug. 19, including the condition of HVAC units and air quality monitors, and the routine pediatric immunization rates of children, per the Back to School Safely Emergency Act of 2022.

Children across the nation have fallen behind on their routine vaccinations, which include shots that prevent measles, mumps, chickenpox, and polio. D.C. students ages 12 and up are also required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Yes, but: On Monday, D.C Council chair Phil Mendelson tweeted that the Department of General Services still hadn’t sent the required documents on school readiness. A spokesperson for Mendelson told Axios that the office will meet with DGS on Thursday.

What’s happening: The office of Ward 4 council member Janeese Lewis George, who co-authored the emergency legislation, says it has received some, but not all of the required readiness data.

Gov. Phil Murphy, along with a slew of other dignitaries, touted the investment in school construction included in the 2023 budget at the ribbon-cutting for a new school in the city of Passaic on Tuesday.

That project, the Dayton Avenue Educational Campus, is one of the largest handled by the Schools Development Authority. With a price tag of nearly $241 million, it includes a 448,000-square-foot campus that will house four schools.

“Every child in this state deserves a world-class education and every child in this state deserves a world-class school in which to learn and to grow, and today here in Passaic we’re bringing those basic principals to life,” Murphy said. “Public education is not just some number in the state budget to be cut through the whims of politics. Public education has become a central and core investment in our state’s social and economic future.”

As Rowan County reports more COVID and other respiratory illnesses among the young since school started Aug. 10, West Rowan Middle has temporarily closed its campus and switched to remote learning, health and school officials said. The closing through this week will allow for the “thorough cleaning and sanitizing of the school” after “new evidence of microbial growth’’ was found again in the HVAC system, Rowan-Salisbury Chief of Schools Greggory Slate said in a phone message to parents late Monday. “We apologize for this inconvenience,” he said.
A school district spokeswoman provided The Charlotte Observer a copy of the message after the newspaper inquired about parental complaints on social media over the past week that some of their children developed respiratory illnesses at the school. At the same time, the county has experienced a higher rate of COVID cases among ages 17 and under, “although our rates overall are decreasing,” Rowan County Public Health Director Alyssa Harris told the Observer on Tuesday.
 

FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Fort Smith Public Schools’ energy conservation success has led to 17 of its buildings earning EPA “Energy Star” certification.
According to a press release from the school district, this recognition is presented to the most energy-efficient buildings in the country.
“We are extremely pleased to receive this recognition from Energy Star,” said Shawn Shaffer, Executive Director of Facility Operations. “It’s proof we’re operating healthier, more efficient buildings for our students and community.”
“Our energy conservation efforts are helping protect the local environment,” he added. “Just as importantly, the environmental impact is equal to taking 1,785 cars off the street or planting 126,792 trees in our community. We are proud that our program’s success is being recognized by Energy Star.”
Fort Smith Public Schools buildings earning Energy Star Certification include Beard, Bonneville, Carnall, Cavanaugh, Euper Lane, Fairview, Howard, Orr, Park, Spradling, Sunnymede, Sutton, Tilles, Woods, Chaffin, Ramsey and Northside High School. To earn Energy Star Certification, buildings must rate in the top 25 percent nationwide for energy efficiency.
The cost of utilities is a large budget line-item for Fort Smith Public Schools, and the prices for electricity, natural gas, heating oil and water have been steadily increasing. Fort Smith Public Schools has reduced its energy consumption by 25.2%.

As school districts and charter schools begin spending down an unprecedented infusion of federal Covid-relief aid, it looks like nearly $10 billion could go toward a single priority: improving heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Recent stories in The Wall Street Journal and Kaiser Health News underscore how school districts are scrambling to spend the federal aid on these and other capital projects. While some schools are simply adding new filters, others plan to replace aging systems that haven’t worked well for years.

These repairs can influence how students learn, ensuring classrooms aren't too hot or too cold, and removing conditions that can make students and teachers sick. As I told KHN’s Liz Szabo, “If you look at the research, it shows that a school’s literal climate — the heat, the mold, the humidity — directly affects learning.”

FutureEd’s analysis of spending plans compiled by the Burbio data-services firm of 5,000-plus school districts serving 74 percent of the nation’s public school students shows that about half of the districts plan HVAC projects. Nearly a third of districts expect to spend on repairs to prevent illness, a broad category that includes lead and asbestos abatement, as well as mold and mildew prevention.

Members of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education are facing a dilemma when it comes to paying for all the projects in the $350 million bond package that voters approved in 2016.
With construction costs expected to be as much as $350 a square foot, the bond sale is now likely to fall $63 million short of finishing all the projects that came before voters.
Three projects — additions at Ward and Griffith elementary schools and a new Smith Farm Middle School — are likely to be delayed. The school board, upon the recommendation of district leaders — is now looking at altering two other projects, renovations at Philo-Hill Middle School and East Forsyth High School.
At a workshop last week, school board members talked extensively about how to approach those projects. In the end, they decided to visit each of the schools to better evaluate the needs there.
Superintendent Tricia McManus has talked previously about the subpar conditions at Philo-Hill Middle School, saying renovations there must stay on track. However, spending more at Philo-Hill may mean less extensive renovations at East Forsyth.
 

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Hundreds of millions of dollars in construction is underway or planned to upgrade schools on overseas U.S. military bases in the Pacific, according to Department of Defense Education Activity officials.

Major projects underway in Japan include a $150 million replacement for Nile C. Kinnick High School at Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo and the $95 million replacement of Bechtel Elementary School at Camp McTureous on Okinawa, DODEA Pacific chief of staff Todd Schlitz told Stars and Stripes by phone July 28.

A $175 million replacement for Kubasaki High School on Camp Foster, Okinawa, is in the design phase, he said. Work has also started on a new $20 million DODEA Pacific East District Superintendent Office at Yokota.

Plans to replace Joan K. Mendel Elementary School at Yokota have been delayed at least five years due to the project’s “size and executability concurrent with other school projects,” although they will be reviewed yearly, DODEA Pacific spokeswoman Miranda Ferguson said by email June 22.

Over the past five years, DODEA has completed projects to build, renovate or add on to Zama Middle-High School, Sasebo Elementary School, Kadena Elementary and High schools, Bob Hope Elementary School, Killin Elementary School, E.J. King Middle School, Edgren Middle School, Yokota High School and Zukeran Elementary School, Schlitz said.

First-phase renovations at Erie High School are nearing completion as a four-story addition is rising at Fairview High School.

A multiyear, multi-million-dollar renovation is underway at McDowell Intermediate High School. Another is about to begin at Corry Area Middle-High School.

Cathedral Prep/Villa Maria will open a new technology center when the two schools combine this all.

They're just some of the construction and renovation projects underway as local schools prepare for the start of classes.

Erie High School work leads district's 'warm, safe and dry' projects
The first phase of a $65 million, multiyear project at Erie High School is expected to be finished ahead of schedule this fall.

TAOS — The state is poised to help the Peñasco Independent School District demolish its facilities and replace them with new buildings.

The rural district has struggled to keep up with the increasingly burdensome maintenance needs of its elementary, middle and high schools, parts of which were built in the 1950s. Some classrooms lacked heat last winter, and students returned to school earlier this month to find there was no air conditioning in some classrooms.

The district is working on its first-ever facilities master plan.

Three staff members of the state Public School Capital Outlay Council, traveled to Peñasco to apprise the district of the opportunity. Alyce Ramos, programs manager for the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority, told the Peñasco school board Tuesday that all three buildings are expected to rise near the top of the state’s list of school facilities in need of replacement.

The list, updated annually, will be released Jan. 7.

Peñasco’s schools are ranked between 153rd and 379th among nearly 700 public schools across the state. After the list is updated, the district’s schools will all be ranked somewhere “in the top 20 or 25,” Ramos said. If the district applies for facilities replacement, Peñasco could see new buildings in three to six years.

The Long Beach Unified School District has unanimously adopted a policy to implement goals aimed at reducing emissions and moving the district toward the use of clean and renewable energy.
LBUSD students and community members celebrated when the board approved the policy on Wednesday, Aug. 17. Among them was the Long Beach Green Schools Campaign, a student-led effort to address the climate crisis which has been advocating for the policy since 2020.
"I'm really happy, I think that's an understatement," said Diana Michaelson, an incoming senior at Poly High and founder of the Long Beach Green Schools Campaign. "Happy to have had this opportunity to work with district staff to do this all together, collaboratively."
The formally titled "Green School Operations — Energy and Sustainability Policy" is a revision of the district's original policy adopted in 2019. The updates arose from a collaborative involving the LBUSD facilities department, sustainability team, director of strategic programs and policy, Long Beach Green Schools Campaign, and LBUSD staff.
The revised policy is part of a multi-step approach to address climate change and justice at LBUSD, according to the agenda.
Its three main goals are reducing energy and water consumption by maximizing use of renewable and clean energy technologies, ensuring new and replacement machinery is zero-emissions, and reducing vehicle emissions to campuses. The policy also establishes a climate crisis and sustainability task force to hold the district accountable.
 

Albuquerque Public Schools unveiled the Atrisco Heritage Academy High School photo-voltaic and battery storage project on Thursday, Aug. 18.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joined APS Superintendent Scott Elder and others in learning more about the state's largest public school clean energy project.

Also on hand were APS Board of Education President Yolanda Montoya-Cordova, Atrisco Heritage Academy Principal Irene Cisneros, APS staff who have worked for years on the project, project partners, and other distinguished guests. 

The solar panel and battery storage project showcases the latest step toward the district's ultimate goal of safe, energy-efficient facilities that conserve taxpayer resources while reducing our carbon footprint.

More than 2,200 electricity-producing solar panels -- which amounts to about one solar panel per student at AHA -- will generate electricity stored in a Tesla Megapack 2-energy storage system.

School construction within Park City limits is governed by both the city and the state. The Utah State Board of Education, or USBE, issues what are called project numbers before school districts can begin construction work.

Demolition started at Park City High School at the beginning of July – without a project number. The state found out about that this week, and called the district. In response, Park City schools superintendent Jill Gildea said the district would stop work until it provides the state what it needs to issue a project number.

The school district sent some required forms to the state Friday. It still needs to provide building and energy code reviews, a state fire marshal review, a Summit County Health Department review, a storm water permit and proof of coordination with Park City.

Scott Jones is deputy superintendent in charge of operations for the USBE. According to Jones, Gildea told state schools superintendent Sydnee Dickson this week that required documents weren’t submitted to the state due to a paperwork backlog within Park City Municipal.

“She cited some kind of backlogged paper documentation of what we still need to issue the project number. And we're trying to confirm this," Jones said. "Apparently all of that is subject to backlogs at the city level and that's why this management company from Park City School District or that works for them, JD Stevens, hasn't sent all the documentation we need.”

From San Diego to Sacramento, the threat of rising temperatures to our youth continues to worsen.

And as six million California public school students return to class this month, they’ll be walking onto schoolyards covered with asphalt – prison-like, unhealthy environments that are detrimental to a kid’s physical, mental and educational health.

Fortunately, state policymakers this month have an historic opportunity to build a lasting, bipartisan legacy to address this systemic injustice by ripping out asphalt, planting trees and “greening” K-12 schools so our youth can grow, learn and play in healthier environments.

As our Legislature works with Gov. Newsom on how to wisely invest our $70 billion budget surplus, we urge them to allocate at least $250 million to support a rapidly growing movement of students, teachers and parents seeking greener schools.

With little shade and asphalt reaching 150 degrees, parents are urging the Los Angeles Unified School District to make changes to schoolyards and ensure they don't turn into "heat islands."
"We are starting in August now. It's the hottest time of the year and our playground is asphalt," said LAUSD mom Cecile Michaelis.
The hot playgrounds and campuses are forcing students to be indoors to avoid suffering from heat illnesses. The mere potential of their children getting sick from playing in the heat concerns parents like Connor Clayton.
"The kids come home from school completely beat red, dehydrated, hot and sweaty," Clayton, whose two girls attend Shirley Avenue Elementary School. 
In response, an LAUSD spokesperson said the district has tried to remedy the heat with air-conditioned areas and by limiting students' time in high-heat areas.
"When temperatures are high, our school provides air-conditioned bungalows for students during recess and lunch," the spokesperson said. We also have several trees that provide shade in our courtyard and we proactively limit student access to areas that may experience high heat, including select playground equipment."
 

VALLEY CITY, N.D. (Valley News Live/NewsDakota.com) - The Valley City School board has moved away from the idea of building a new school due to the high cost of construction. Superintendent Josh Johnson said the focus shifted to repairing their existing facilities.

“Looking at the state of our facilities and explored building a new school, quickly recognizing over seven to eight months that through inflation, the cost of construction was not feasible for us to build new. We stepped back, took a refocus, and determined what it was that we would prioritize in our current facilities,” Johnson said.

He said the district plans to use about $3 million of COVID funding and the rest of the proposal could be financed by increasing their building fund levy.

“Currently 12 mills up to 20 mills would be an additional ask of our taxpayers to support the immediate needs that we have in our schools,” Johnson explained.

When students at the Gallipolis City School District in southeast Ohio return from summer break, they’ll be sitting in classrooms with air cleaned and freshened by almost $4 million in refurbishments.
The district retrofitted once-inefficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at five of its schools, adding new equipment with higher rated filters, automation and ultraviolet irradiation. 
For a district with about 2,000 students, it’s a sizable investment — paid for by the federal government with Covid relief funding. School leaders hope it buys them peace of mind after two years of pandemic disruptions. 
“Our students are behind … the least we can do is provide them, you know, a comfortable climate with good air quality,” district Superintendent Craig Wright said. “It helps reduce the spread. I think it helps increase the likelihood that we don’t have to use masks. Nobody likes to use a mask.”
The overhaul is one of many made to schools across the United States as part of an effort to dramatically cut the risk of infection from the coronavirus. They’re changes experts say could have broader benefits in reducing the spread of infectious diseases that can often sweep through schools.
Changes have not been uniform. Billions of federal dollars available to improve ventilation have yet to be spent. Surveys suggest some school leaders weren’t sure how they could access that money and experts are warning that some rural schools could be falling behind.