Early dismissal blues
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
Early dismissal blues
Kristen Graham
So, as a former Philly public school student, I can tell you first-hand that hot weather + Philadelphia School District buildings = not a good combination. The vast majority of the district’s buildings are old and un-airconditioned, and sweltering is probably not going far enough for how they feel in this weather. Forget teaching and learning - those aren't good conditions for anyone's health.
After watching the sizzling weather forecast, officials made the call to dismiss schools early today, at 1:30.
But I’ve heard from a number of parents that they didn’t find out about the early dismissal until pretty late in the game - some as late as 1 p.m. or afterward, and some never actually got the official word from a school or district notification.
District spokeswoman Jamilah Fraser notified the media of the closure at about 12:15. She said principals had already been notified and robocalls had already gone out to parents.
“I can’t notify the media until we nofify parents,” Fraser said. “We followed proper procedures.”
She said the district tries to give parents at least an hour and a half advance warning for early dismissal — two hours or more if possible.
At the elementary school level, staff cannot leave the building if any children are left. That’s different at the high school level.
Because predicting the weather is so tricky, district officials were in a tough spot, Fraser said. She said they were prepared to dismiss school early Tuesday based on the weather forecast, but it never got quite hot enough to do so. Today, it was hotter than expected, and it became necessary to do so, she said.
“It’s just kind of a game of chance,” said Fraser.
The game of chance, though, left many parents scrambling for childcare.
Luise Moskowitz, parent of two district students, didn’t find out until 12:55 p.m., when her son used a friend’s phone to call her.
“I got no robocall,” Moskowitz said. “My daughter’s teacher emailed the whole class, and my son, at the middle school, told me on a cell phone. But there was nothing official at all.”
Moskowitz, who lives in Center City, works in an office some days and at home others.
“It just so happened that I could be flexible today,” she said. “Otherwise, I would have had to drop everything to get my kids.”
She even picked up a few other students whose parents were not able to make it — evidence, she says, that there’s some silver lining here.
“Well, at least we know we can mobilize the city in under an hour,” Moskowitz said. “But the school district could have made it easier for us.”
Parents: when did you hear about the early dismissal?
Comments (42)
My classroom was 84 degrees at 8am on Tuesday and 92 at 12:30 today. For those of you who say, "we never had air," please, oh please try to teach a class of 8th graders who want to be done for the year when all they are worried about is how many people can get stuffed in front of the three fans. Our job is tough enough as it is without hearing people complain about kids being sent home.
As for the calls, as others have said, if people had numbers that worked, then parents could be notified. For those saying "send something home," I do all the time. Rarely do half the papers make their way out my door, let alone into the hands of a parent. Why don't people use their own heads and think about the recent history of days with a heat warning and what the school district has done.— msf29- Not sure when the notice was posted on the district's site, but I read it about 12:45. Also, all you parents complaining about not receiving a robot call need to maybe update your phone numbers. I can't tell you how many times I have called homes on the #s parents/caregivers have given me and the phone was disconnected, or someone never heard the the person I am referencing. Maybe if you took calls about your child's behavior, you would be getting robot calls when the need arises.— Colleen1979
- agreed. — msf29
- These people who are saying they should have stuck it out obviously don't know what they are talking about. The school district building are made of brick and concrete and function as ovens in this weather. Furthermore, although we have hundreds of thousands of dollars for Arlene Ackerman, most of windows in the District are either broken or cannot be opened. So you have a 100 degree day + brick building with no windows.
- Yet another example of why the strongest family set-up for children is one in which the 2 parents live together and only 1 parent works.— Truth B. Told
- Dadair- You are absolutely right. At the least, the district should have sent notes home to families days ago letting them know to be alert during high heat days. Parents need to be *aware* that early dismissals may be in the offing. Just like they do for inclement weather days.— nikki1231
- I heard of the closing listening to KYW around 12:30pm , called my wife who was in the far Northeast on a job... She picked our grandson up from school, and the call from the school came around 1:15pm...Great job by the School District getting the message out,NOT. if they knew it was going to be this hot for at least three days prior to today, better planning should've been put together!!!— Dadair1
- I think a lot of people are missing the point here. It was very hot today ...dangerously hot, I agree. The problem isn't that school got out early. Its the notifying parents and not releasing to emergency contacts that is the most upsetting. Telling parents that it is their responsibility is just a cop out. And for most parents, leaving a job is not an option. I believe this is the reason for "emergency contacts".— peggyaverill
- @ajh22, did you know that these older buildings were designed to naturally vent the hot air out of the building? The upper sash of all Philadelphia school buildings were blocked off and sealed some years ago, and as you say only the bottom sash can open about a foot or so. This traps all of the heat in the room. With properly venting windows (yes, they can be made safe without blocking them off), solar blinds, re-opened venting transoms above the doors to the hallways, and ceiling fans--these classrooms would be bearable WITHOUT air conditioning. And doubling the level of daylight in the classroom is healthier for the children, plus it reduces the need for artificial lighting, which produces heat and adds to the electric bill. Google "Daylighting in Schools" and you will find some great research on the subject. Good luck, and thank you for watching out for our children (my daughter is a public school 4th grader).— localdesigner
- As a teacher I can tell you the heat today was unbearable in the classrooms! The windows do not open very far for safety reasons and the students were complaining about the heat. Most of us have air in our homes so the students are used to that. The problem lies with the parents who do not provide a working number for the staff to reach them! I called every parent in my room on my cell phone as soon as we got the word about the early dismissal..anyone want to guess how many numbers were disconnected out of the 26? Try 7!! Luckily this was not a life threatening emergency and your child was not on the way to the ER...wake up parents and take responsibility for YOUR own children...isn't it enough that we feed them twice a day already!— ajh22
- Parents and caretakers do not seem to think it is their responsibility when they change their phone numbers to notify the school that has the care of their child for more than 6 hours per day. Though I am sure their bff's and their other important social contacts were notified when their numbers changed so they could be texting, talking and on facebook with their new phone number!!!!Also, people give false numbers and information so their children can attend certain schools.
Not all, but some seem to think everything is the school's responsibility. There needs to be a better system in place. Parents also need to leave an emergency contact number with a note or letter on file signed by the parent that their child can be released to their emergency contact people.
I also attended school without air conditioning and in a very old building, but we had good cross ventilation in the classroom. We did not have fans. I saw remarks from people about fans - what do they do but blow the hot air around! Children were feeling the ill effects of the heat on Tuesday. Parents should have been aware of the heat advisory posted on the news and on alert. I am sure many of them work in air conditioned buildings, or they hae somewhere to go in their workplace in order to get cooled off. If there is one air conditioned room (more than likely the room with the computers), you cannot fit all of the classes inside that room. The offices in the school buildings are air conditioned, but not our children's class rooms.
Thank you for taking the time and effort to notify your students parents by your personal cell phone which uses your minutes that you are not reimbursed for. Thank you for being a caring teacher and having the best interest of your students at heart! I applaud your efforts!
— Wake Up Philly - ajh22, didn't you know that in today's nanny state, the government is responsible for everything? Or so those do-nothing parents would have you believe. — Smokey
- I thought that my son was going to stay at school since he's in private school but he rides the city school bus so I was notified he would be sent home at 1:30. Then I find out the kids were waiting outside for an hour for the bus to show up, when they could have stayed in class for another hour. Next time, I'll make sure he has tokens. And it's not easy having to leave work and get your kids, especially when a lot of these jobs could care less. I've been in jobs where it's stay at work or leave and lose your job.— Ried
- I blogged about the lack of natural cooling & venting in older Philadelphia schools just last week--this might be of interest to your readers:
http://thepublicworx.blogspot.com/2011/05/school-windows.html— localdesigner - Boo-Hoo! I grew up in Puerto Rico. We didn't have air condidioning in our school buildings. If school let out for a 90 degree+ day, we would have missed school at least 30 days out of the year! Ever heard of a machine called a fan?
BTW, My wife works near a middle school. She just told me there are at least two dozen kids congregated under the trees down the block. They were let out early, but nobody picked them up. Seems to me that the PSD rationale is that they don't care if a kid dies of heatstroke, as long as it doesn't happen in their property.
— DonQ - I guess this means the notion of a year-round education will not be coming to the PSD anytime soon.— bobcitydoc
- i agree put air conditioning in all schools then bid work and after white contractor wins bid have the queen take work off of them and give to a black contractor who i don't know but i have one of his business cards— XDRUM
- My daughter's school tried reaching me around 1:30, but I was out of the building at a meeting, so the ringer on my mobile phone was off--did not find out until after 2 when I happened to check my phone, and then when I called, found out that the school does not release one's child to the emergency contact person unless a parent calls the school and authorizes this. Not sure what good the emergency contact is. Finally around 2:30, one of the other parents rescued my daughter and brought her home. And for those of you who are saying that the children are spoiled to not tough it out, don't forget that the windows on these older school buildings are sealed at the upper sash, so no light or air can pass through. Only the lower sash opens about a foot, but without an operable upper sash, warm air cannot escape the room. Instead of wasting stimulus money on questionable programs for failing schools, the district should have invested in rehabbing some of the older buildings like my daughter's Center City school, which was designed a century ago to be naturally vented. These buildings were "green" before their time, but these original functions (like windows that open)have been disabled over the years with botched renovations by the PSD.— localdesigner
- People just need to find something to complain about. I work in a Middle School. It was miserable. You had to keep moving so that you could breathe. The heat was so much it smothered you like a blanket. If a kid had a heat stroke what would we be saying> Stop the nonsense. Realize, a child cannot learn when the environment is unbearable! What is the point?— tsam01
- The point is that the district didn't actually tell parents they were sending students home and young children were TAKEN OUT OF AIR-CONDITIONED BUILDINGS AND MADE TO WAIT OUT ON THE BLACKTOP. The point is not the decision to close, it is the way that it was badly executed, to the point where they may have endangered more children than they protected. — Pam3228
- Although I got a robo-call this morning from the district that was basically akin to a telemarketer (some program for parents I could attend that I have no interest in), I did not get any notification from the district about the early closing. Instead, I got a call from my child's 1st grade teacher ten minutes after school closed that she was waiting outside on the blacktop. Yes, because of the excessive heat, my child had to leave her AIR-CONDITIONED school to wait OUTSIDE on the BLACKTOP in the EXCESSIVE HEAT. Well done, School District of Philadelphia.— Pam3228
Comment removed.- 100 years ago no ones homes had air conditioning either! If you are all so tough, go home and turn yours off!— Philly_Mommy
- At my school today, teachers tried to call parents of younger students to inform them of the closing. But there is a serious problem when every number we have for a parent is disconnected or won't accept incoming calls. This was the case for some of the emergency numbers as well.
As far as no air conditioning in the buildings - It has been so hot we had 2 children pass out. Many schools in the district are simply too old to put in air conditioning and it's really not feasible to do so. The SDP made the right call to have an early dismissal today, but it seems their notification system could have been better.— PHL Teacher - I called parents when I got the heads up over the loud speaker at about 12:25. One parent told me that they had heard it on the news and they were going to call me if they didn't get a call. Personally, I think the district needs to make these decisions when they get the forecast.
To those who say, "we didn't have AC growing up." Can you please tell me of another institution that runs without AC these days...hospitals? municipal buildings? Federal or state buildings? I'm sure they all didn't have AC several decades ago either.
The fact is that the vast majority of buildings for public use and most private businesses have AC these days. It says a lot when we don't do the same for our children. It wouldn't be such a big deal if the buildings were one floor but they're not. They're big, old and have poor ventilation to start. Add sweltering heat and you have a recipe for misery.— nikki1231 - Not only did they not notify the emergency contact numbers that parents provide, when my nephew called the school to complain they told him it is PARENTS responsibility to listen to KWY. Really? Is that all you can come up with?????— peggyaverill
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- I received a voice mail at 1:30pm from my daughter's catholic school notifuing me about the 1:30 dismissal. Your site only mentioned public school and I tried calling my daughter's school from 1-1:25PM before calling someone else. Thankfully after care was still open which she was scheduled to go to today.— dankil13
- I won't get into second guessing the call. However, as a building principal, I will say that Ms. Fraser's timeline is grossly inaccurate. The news was posted on KYW before schools were notified. Principals didn't receive notice until 12:22 via email. Those principals that were not sitting right on top of their email, who knows when they finally realized it? The advisory sent to the media asked everyone to check the website for updates. They NEVER even posted the closing on the website until well after 1:30!— Educator
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- I found out around 1 by logging on to Philly.com, and then had to race from Ardmore to Rhawnhurst. Never got a call.— HandNik
- “Otherwise, I would have had to drop everything to get my kids.”
I think you kind of sign up for that when you have kids. Calling a closure mid-day is never convenient for anyone beacuse it has to be last minute... whether the school is closing for snow or heat. The district used good judgement in this weather, and families would have been complaining if they didn't close.— diiianaaa - "The district" and "good judgment" don't belong in the same sentence. It was poor judgment that might cost some parents their jobs. Maintaining a job is part of good parenting - it's also something you sign up for, most of the time.
Most jobs don't allow you to listen to the radio while you're working and as a district parent, I can tell you I am still waiting for my robocall.
What you had out there was a bunch of kids worried that they wouldn't find their parents waiting out there for them and a bunch of parents scrambling to get to their kids.
As another poster stated, the district knew what the forecast was and should have at least issued a warning this morning if they were considering an early dismissal. Once again, we see that the folks at 440 N. Broad can't competently manage a phone bank, let along anything else.— Stand for Something - you know, not that long ago air conditioning didn't exist. and kids still went to school. just sayin'.— eaglesfillthesky
- Neither my K-12 nor my college had AC - we survived just fine - and the humidity where I grew up in May- June was always high 90's - just saying - oh and I walked to school, ate breakfast at home paid for my own meals or brown bagged it! Not bad for lower middle class - difference was my parents were involved and cared about my education. Different culture, different values, different times................ just saying. — saywhat?
- I work in one of the oldest buildings in the district. We have no air conditioning except in the office and you know what? The kids wouldn't have melted. They were complaining, but no one was lightheaded or overly sweaty. So many parents were out of the loop (robocalls go to your home, not your job) that the staff ended up staying with the last dozen kids until nearly 3 PM anyway. How much money was squandered on this dog-and-pony show to offer "proof" that the district brass cares a whit for its children?— Devoted Teacher
- 12:20 or so--via your tweet— lutton
- I found out via twitter at about 12:30pm. I didn't get an official phone call until 1:11pm. Fortunately, I work from home so I have a flexible schedule but this is a difficult situation and there needs to be a better system of notification.— kwbridge
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About this blog
Inquirer reporter Kristen Graham writes the Philly School Files blog, where she covers education in Philadelphia, both in and out of the classroom.
Kristen Graham
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
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