With Toronto in the grips of a heat wave, principal Anthony Levy spent much of Monday walking the hallways of West Preparatory Junior Public School doing temperature checks, and making adjustments as mercury levels rose.
Classes on the upper level were relocated to the cooler basement, students did their work in the hallway, recess became optional and teachers rotated kids through cooling centres, located in the library and a multi-purpose room.
“We did have a plan coming in,” Levy told reporters at the school, near Allen Road and Eglinton Avenue West, where half the students were absent Monday. And “it’s a work in progress as the heat goes up.”
Teachers and students across Ontario grappled with sweltering conditions in schools that are several decades old and lack central air conditioning.
Monday’s extreme heat was so extreme in Toronto that a power outage left about 2,700 people without electricity, pools faced rolling closures, and the mayor vowed to introduce a motion this week to address what she calls “serious gaps” in the city’s heat relief strategy.
As temperatures soared — in Toronto it hit 36 C, but with the humidex felt as hot as 44 C — students were encouraged to wear light clothing, drink water, avoid physical activity and keep to shady areas in the school yard. And, when possible, staff kept lights and computers turned off, closed blinds and curtains, opened windows, rotated kids through cooler spaces and used fans — some teachers used personal fans, while others borrowed them from the kids’ parents.
The Toronto District School Board, the country’s largest, has 579 schools — 177 have central air conditioning, 243 have a cooling centre (typically in the gym, a library or a multipurpose room), and the rest have small air conditioner units in the library.
Board spokesperson Shari Schwartz-Maltz said schools were not closed because it would be difficult for parents to find child care.
By comparison, six Ontario French-language schools without air conditioning were closed Monday and will remain shuttered Tuesday.
Several teachers from various boards — the Star isn’t identifying them because they weren’t authorized to speak — described stifling conditions, noting many students were absent, and some left school early.
One Toronto kindergarten teacher said the board should have closed schools without central air conditioning, rather than treating staff like “glorified babysitters.” At her school only the library is air-conditioned, but all classes have fans provided by the parent council. Still, her classroom hit 30 C.
“It’s exceptionally hot. We’re just trying to do calm, quiet activities,” she said, adding water activities in the shade outside were planned for the afternoon.
One high school teacher in the Brantford area said Monday “was unreal, simply unable to work,” and sent a photo showing her classroom at 35 C.
While she eventually moved to a cooler space, “expecting anyone to function in this heat was not realistic. Students complained about not being able to think, and being stuck to seats when trying to stand up.”
And, she added, “you know it is hot when the toilet seat feels like it is heated.”
Toronto mother Andrea Frenke picked up her kids, ages six and nine, from school during lunchtime because they weren’t feeling well. When she arrived, a handful of others were also there to get their children.
“We’re talking like five-year-olds and six-year-olds coming home and telling their parents, ‘I could barely keep my head up in class, I feel nauseous, I have a headache’ … no one can learn in an environment like this,” said Frenke.
Children play Monday in the gymnasium at West Preparatory Junior Public School in Toronto, which shares space with a cooled multipurpose room.
Steve Russell/Toronto StarAlthough one of her kids was in a classroom that had an air-conditioning unit in the window, that’s not sufficient given the body heat generated in a class of roughly 30 students. Central air conditioning in schools shouldn’t be a luxury, but is an “absolute necessity” on scorching hot days.
“Sometimes I just kind of laugh and cry, thinking this is supposedly a very advanced developed country, but we don’t have some of the most basic infrastructure for the health of our future generations.”
The province should require schools that don’t have air conditioning to cancel classes during extreme heat events, she added, while acknowledging this would put parents in a tight spot if they’re unable to adjust work schedules.
Emma Testani, press secretary for Education Minister Paul Calandra, said boards have protocols on how to deal with heat and are responsible for ensuring each school follows appropriate provincial and municipal health and safety requirements.
“The province provides over $1.4 billion in annual funding to school boards to help renew and improve schools, including air conditioning,” she said. “Over the next 10 years, our government is investing $30 billion to support school construction, renewal and improvement.”
“We will continue to monitor the impacts of the warm weather and work with school boards to help keep students safe.”
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