Bloom District 206 Upgrades Air Conditioning In High Schools

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — Earlier this year, readers asked Patch why Bloom had helicopters hovering over its roof. Mystery solved: The school is getting a new air conditioning system.

The two-year project, spokesman Christopher Paicely explained, aimed to upgrade the systems in both Bloom and Bloom Trail, and to add air conditioning to areas that didn't have any. The $24 million-project was paid for by a Qualified School Construction Bond.

Before you reach for the "back in my day" comparisons, consider this: Multiple studies link excessive heat to poor performance in the classroom. A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research showed that students without air conditioning did not score well on college entrance exams, and Penn State University's Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis found that students best learn math and reading when the temperature is between 68 degrees and 74 degrees.

That's important in the age of standardized testing.

According to Paicely, the upgrades include improving the existing system with cold water chillers, which are environmentally and economically friendly because the system recycles the cold water used to chill the air and rarely requires new water to be added to the cycle.

Bloom Trail's upgrades and additions were completed in 2018. Bloom's will be complete this year.

Under the project, each school also switched to energy-saving LED lighting in the hallways and classrooms.

As for your students' scores? They may still find plenty of excuses for about that. But "it's too hot" shouldn't be one of them.

Updated July 24, 2019 to add cost.