Jacob Lloyd knew something was wrong when his son came home from school last week and announced he wanted to quit taekwondo.
His 7-year-old is usually bouncing off the walls after school, excited to go to the martial arts class.
But last week, he was exhausted. It was 90 degrees outside and his Waukesha elementary school was built around 1966 without air conditioning.
“My son was very dysregulated and had a hard time adjusting as he came in (from school)," Lloyd remembers. "He was visibly pink, and he definitely had a harder time than my youngest.”
The first week of school across southeastern Wisconsin was at times, unbearably hot – especially in schools that aren’t air-conditioned. On Sept. 2, what would have been the second day of school, Milwaukee’s public school district called off classes.
The School District of Waukesha — where Lloyd’s son goes to school — did not.
How heat impacts kids' ability to learn
Last week wasn't the first time that a local district has had to call off school for hot weather, and experts say that schools need to prepare for more heat waves due to climate change.
In the long-term, that’s going to impact how students can learn.
“Heat is not just a comfort issue. It's a health issue as well as a learning issue," says Dr. Kevin Dahlman, a pediatrician and president of primary care at Children's Wisconsin.
He explains that when classrooms are too hot, kids’ bodies need to put more energy into trying to stay cool.
“So when that happens, it becomes more difficult for the kids to concentrate, to process information and to stay attentive," he adds. "And of course, we need all three of those in our brain working properly to be able to maximize the learning that's taking place.”
In Milwaukee, the concern isn’t just whether it’s too hot to go outside for recess.
Only 25% of classrooms in MPS schools have air conditioning, meaning that indoor temperatures, especially in old, brick buildings, can climb to dangerous levels, even when kids aren’t in the direct sun.
On the first day of school, most rooms visited by the MPS superintendent had large fans droning in the corner.
“It’s going to be hot, as it has been year after year," she said. "We have to step up and do something. So I think we get to the point where we have to start replacing these old buildings.”
Reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found that adding “cooling elements” to every classroom would cost the district around $12 million.
The newspaper reported that the air conditioning being considered is most similar to the systems hotels use to cool hundreds of rooms at once.
Previous MPS administrations have estimated that adding air conditioning to schools that don’t have it would cost upwards of $100 million.
Do hot days warrant a 'cognitive snow day' for students?
Experts in child psychology recommend air conditioning on top of a broader approach to heat.
Nicole Barnes is the executive lead psychologist for the education program at the American Psychological Association.
"Districts need heat strategies, not just cooling strategies. AC is not the full answer," she says.
Barnes and her colleagues recommend monitoring which rooms in a school get the hottest, adjusting recess and transportation schedules, and providing hydration and shade to students.
They also support a type of “cognitive snow day” when temperatures inside schools get too hot. That is, lightening the mental load on students when they’re at risk for overheating.
“A heat day isn't a normal day. Schools should have plans that adjust their expectations when these environmental conditions are going to undermine learning, much like they have a plan in place for other weather disruptions or emergencies or testing schedules," Barnes says.
In Waukesha, parents are concerned that not all schools have central air conditioning
Here in Wisconsin, high temperatures have fallen since the first few days of school.
Jacob Lloyd said his son even went back to taekwondo.
“On Thursday, he was writing a new goal for himself about how he absolutely was not going to quit until he was a black belt," he said. "And just that difference in attitude was really marked.”
Waukesha School District Superintendent James Sebert told WUWM that not all schools in his district have central air conditioning. He said schools use a mix of portable units, window units, fans and dehumidifiers to try to keep classrooms cool.
But Jacob Lloyd says right now, it's not enough.
"As the temperatures are just going to continue rising, I can't imagine this being a sustainable thing," Lloyd says. "Like if it's not air conditioning, they need to find a way to keep schools cooler."
For the rest of the school year, Lloyd says he plans to send his two kids to school with personal fans and large water bottles.
His son will bring his water bottle with him from science class to the taekwondo studio, which, Lloyd points out, does have air conditioning.
Do you have a question about education or how schools work in our area? Submit it here to WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal.
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