Heat Impacts Trumbull School Day Schedule On Wednesday/Thursday

Written and shared by Martin J. Semmel, Ed.D., Trumbull Superintendent of Schools

The Trumbull Public Schools will follow an early dismissal schedule on Wednesday, September 6 and Thursday, September 7.

I am sending this message this evening so you have time to plan for your child(ren). This relates to all schools due to the structure of our bussing program.

The Back to School Nights for our elementary schools will be postponed to a date to be determined. Principals will share the new date once established.

It is always my goal to provide a full day of learning for our students. We only have 181 days of
school and I want to make sure we take full advantage of each one. However, there are times when
the heat and humidity coupled with the lack of air-conditioned spaces in many of our buildings will necessitate an early dismissal.

Decision-Making Process

While I have shared my process in the past for making snow call decisions, I thought it may help if I provide some additional information about how I make decisions around shortened days due to heat and humidity.

First, we do have a Board of Education Policy regarding " school closings". The pertinent section of the policy related to temperature states:

When the temperature, as measured by the school district's official maintenance department thermometer, in an instructional space exceeds 95 degrees or is less than 55 degrees, the Superintendent of Schools shall consider closing down the space for use by students and make other provisions.

You can see from the policy that the goal is to find cooler spaces for students and staff when certain temperatures are achieved.

Second, the schools that are not fully air-conditioned, do have many classrooms and common spaces that are air-conditioned. For example, each elementary school has at least one classroom per grade level with air-conditioning. The principals of those buildings work with their entire staff to ensure that students and staff have an opportunity to spend some time in air-conditioned spaced during the day.

Third, our principals and teachers encourage students to remain hydrated throughout the day.

Fourth, since heat index concerns focus mostly on strenuous physical activity, we ask that physical education classes participate in activities that are less strenuous. We also ask that recess be held indoors.

Why didn't we have an early dismissal today?

While today, Tuesday, September 5, was uncomfortable, the principals and teachers did an excellent job keeping our students engaged in learning. We knew that the temperatures and humidity for today would be lower than for Wednesday and Thursday and that many classrooms would remain below the 95-degree threshold.

While a few districts did call for an early dismissal today, it seemed unnecessary for Trumbull to take the same step. I did take some time this afternoon to visit an elementary school and Madison Middle School to feel the impact of our decisions. Although it was warm and muggy the students were engaged in the learning process. There were rooms on the second floor of Madison that were definitely warm but the principal provided those teachers with the opportunity to use the air-conditioned spaces that were available, like the auditorium.

Why is Wednesday and Thursday different?

I am calling for an early dismissal for Wednesday and Thursday because the temperature and
humidity are supposed to be higher for both Wednesday and Thursday. Specifically, the forecast is
calling for heat indexes to be in the 94-98 range by late afternoon Wednesday and the 95-99 range by late afternoon Thursday.

In addition, the heat from today will not immediately dissipate overnight so tomorrow morning's temperatures will start higher than this morning's temperatures.

What about the Athletic Programs?
I have spoken with our Athletic Director, Mike King and our Head Athletic Trainer, Dan Searles about our weather protocol. They use the following guidelines for practices and games. Our athletes should be on the lookout for information regarding times for their practices.