Buffalo schools adapt to heat wave, teachers worried

The district’s plan for elementary students, kindergarten through eighth grade, is half-day Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said in a news release Saturday evening. The school district recognizes June 16 as a Wednesday holiday, when no administrators, teachers or students report.

The Williamsville Central School District announced Sunday that elementary students would be sent home early Tuesday and Thursday due to the heat.

A spokesperson noted that Williamsville middle schools are already scheduled for half days and exams, but there are no other changes to the schedule. High school students will take exams. All Williamsville schools will be closed Wednesday for June 16.

As of Sunday afternoon, no other local school districts had announced schedule changes, but nearby bus drivers were sounding the alarm.

“I absolutely worry about the little ones,” said Angelena McGuire-Christ, who transports Hamburg’s primary and secondary school students.

Based on Buffalo schools’ bell schedules, elementary students will be dismissed 3 1/2 hours early, at 10:55 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. on each of four days. They will have lunch before being sent on their way, Hammond said. Syracuse City Schools announced about three hours before Buffalo that it would also move to half days this week.

Buffalo schools have received praise for taking action, but several respondents say additional safety measures should be considered.

“It’s really nice that Dr. (Tonja) Williams implemented half days this week,” said Trish Rosokoff, a first-grade teacher at School 45 and building delegate for the Buffalo Teachers Federation. “No child can learn in such hot conditions.”

Greater challenges are expected for Buffalo high school students who, despite having Monday and Wednesday off, will take state exams Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Hammond said water stations will be available for students taking tests.

The nature of standardized tests requires that all students take them simultaneously, with assessments scored shortly thereafter. The National Education Act allows Regents exams to be rescheduled, but district superintendents must follow protocols to ensure results are not compromised.

“The X factor is the Regents exams,” Rich Nigro, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, said Sunday morning.

State testing is critical to the district’s graduation rate. District data shared in mid-May found that 843 of 2,338 seniors were required to pass at least one Regents exam to graduate. Of the 843, more than half were expected to pass three or more regents. About 65 percent of the district has already met Regents requirements by passing five exams.

Several district educators responded with frustration under Buffalo Schools’ Facebook post stating that all staff were required to report for full days except Wednesday. Nigro said he plans to speak with the superintendent early this week. He thought a compromise might be that high school teachers responsible for proctoring exams could work half days, split between morning and afternoon regents. A cool, high-capacity place could be identified for teachers to mark exams, he added.

Nigro noted that the testing situation avoided the worst-case scenario. Few students would pass the two Tuesday Regents sessions – U.S. history and global studies – as well as the two Thursday exams, earth science and chemistry. Friday morning geometry is the only state exam administered that day.

A 2020 study published on Nature.com took math and English test scores from more than 12,000 school districts in the United States and compared results in the hottest and coldest years . The study found that students perform worse in warmer years and that “marginal damage” is worse for lower-income populations.

In elementary schools, the heat will affect end-of-year celebrations and promotion ceremonies, which Rosokoff said are important for students. Parents also have to quickly adapt to a new schedule that involves four days, not just one.

“Calling half days for students in grades K-8 puts working parents and staff, many of whom are BPS parents, in the difficult position of scrambling to find child care last minute,” said Monica Stephens, co-president of Buffalo Parent. -Teacher organization and mother of a second grader in Buffalo schools.

In class, Rosokoff described the conditions her first graders live in when temperatures reach the 80s and 90s.

“Everyone becomes very lethargic. They can’t concentrate. You go home soaked,” she said. “Hair is wet, clothes are wet, underwear is wet – it’s horrible.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dangers of heat-related illness include symptoms such as vomiting, dizziness, fainting, cramps, dehydration and severe fatigue. For her classroom, Rosokoff plans to keep the lights off, provide bottled water and use misters, three fans and cooling towels to help her students acclimate to the heat.

In Buffalo, comfort levels vary by school. Some have air conditioning, but it’s hit or miss, Rosokoff and Nigro said. School buildings are zoned so that only certain rooms within a school can benefit. Orientation also plays a role: Lafayette has the advantage of more shade and larger windows, for example, while McKinley has more direct sun and fewer windows, Nigro said.

The joint school construction project, which renovated 48 buildings in the district over a decade, laid the foundation for increased air conditioning throughout the district. However, some schools do not have functional units. When school returned after Covid-19 shutdowns, Erie County equipped school districts with air purifiers, but those work differently than air conditioners.

Rosokoff, with more than two decades of teaching experience at School 45, said his school “has been fighting for years to get air conditioning.” It’s limited to the library and computer labs, she said. The building was rebuilt to accommodate this element, so the windows only open six to eight inches, she continued. “Before, we had better air circulation,” she said.

Nigro said teachers sent him classroom temperature readings 10 degrees or more above the outside temperature, which raised concerns given the forecast.

The United Teachers of New York State compiled a report on heat in classrooms and promoted legislation to protect teachers and students during sweltering days. A bill requiring students to evacuate a classroom when the temperature reaches 88 degrees has passed the Senate and Assembly, but requires Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.

Buffalo, New York’s second-largest district, moved quickly because it has 60 schools. How heat affects transportation is a factor that concerns everyone. McGuire-Christ, a bus driver with Fisher Bus Service, explained the challenges students should expect on non-air-conditioned buses.

“I’m thinking of bringing a case of water to make sure they stay hydrated,” she said. “I’m a first responder, which helps, but these kids are just like mine.”

McGuire-Christ said exam week for Hamburg middle school students means buses will run all day, rather than in split shifts. Although she is most concerned about the children, it is also difficult for the drivers.

“We’re basically sitting on the engine,” she said.

The veteran driver has strategies to create a reasonable environment for drivers.

“My strategy is to open all the windows and roof hatches at 6:15 a.m. when I come in to let in the cool air, then hope and pray that it won’t be hot in the afternoon” , she said.

Rosokoff noted warmer classrooms in months other than June. Heat also impacts learning in May, September and October. She sympathizes with the summer school teachers and doesn’t think this week is unique.

“It’s an issue that the district is going to have to address,” she said.