Tuesday’s extreme heat forced schools across the Bay Area to change plans, including moving activities inside or outright canceling them.
Students in San Jose’s Alum Rock Union School District spent as much of their day inside as possible with the air conditioning blowing.
“It is extremely hot,” McEntee Academy Principal Tanu Kohli said.
Tuesday was a so-called rainy day schedule, meaning the playground was empty while learning and play continued indoors. The school also delivered ice cold water bottles to classrooms.
“Putting the A/C on, closing the windows, closing the blinds so that we keep the cool air inside,” Kohli said.
The heat also hit other districts hard. Three San Jose Unified schools – Williams Elementary, Bret Harte Middle School and Leland High School – lost power an hour before dismissal.
“We kept the kids indoors,” district spokesperson Jennifer Maddox said. “Luckily the A/C had been running all day, and with a short period of time left, we felt like the rooms would stay cool enough to keep kids there until the end of the day.”
Raymond J. Fisher Middle School in Los Gatos had to move students to different classrooms after HVAC issues, but it was quickly resolved.
Novato Unified School District announced it will have minimum days all week for three of its schools: Lu Sutton Elementary School, Novato High School and Hill Education Center.
In Morgan Hill, where temperatures jumped above 100 degrees before lunch, most schools kept children inside for recess, physical education and lunch.
Like many districts, sports practices were held earlier in the day or indoors or in some cases canceled.
