LBUSD students were ‘suffering’ amid recent heatwave — and some schools still won’t have AC for years
Studies show that students who are uncomfortable due to heat and other issues such as hunger are less likely to retain information.
Summer is officially over, leaving behind the worst of the Southern California heat, which reached upward of 109 degrees in some areas of Long Beach earlier this month. The cooler weather is a welcome respite for students at Long Beach schools still without air conditioning, but many will have to brave the summer heat again for years to come.
During the recent heatwave, which saw temperatures between 85 degrees and 109 degrees for nine days in a row, parents said their students were “suffering.”
“After the 20-minute ride in the air conditioned car to my house, they still were suffering and had red faces and were exhausted,” said Lori Shepler, who has two students enrolled at Carver Elementary, which does not have AC. “The first thing my son did when he got into the house was lay on the couch and he looked like he was sick.”
Of the district’s 84 schools, 13 do not have air conditioning, including Carver, Tucker Elementary, Henry Elementary, Los Cerritos Elementary, Gant Elementary, Tincher Preparatory; Stanford Middle, Hoover Middle, Marshall Middle, Washington Middle; and Poly High, Sato High and Millikan High schools.
