'Sweltering!': Extreme Heat Has Some Massachusetts Schools Letting Students Out Early
LEXINGTON (CBS) - The Lexington High School girls softball team didn't want to miss an after-school practice, even with temperatures in the 90's. "We're going to be indoors today just hitting in the batting cages, so we'll do what we can without sitting in the sun," said one of the coaches Marissa Gable. She spent the first half of the day teaching math with the classroom windows cracked. "Even after the first block I was already sweltering in the second floor classrooms."
Across the state, schools with little to no air conditioning let students out after a half day. "Really, really hot, really hot," said Lexington High junior Joey Sabitini.
Watertown students also got out early. "We had like four fans going on in our room, so it was hot," said third grader Graham Lawson. "I mean I think we've got to keep everybody safe, and heat exhaustion is a real thing," said his mother.
Worcester also had a half school day. "We've got water bottles distributed throughout the building...regularly we have them available in the cafeteria, so this week we'll have them spread out through the building," said Burncoat Middle School Principal Mary Scully.
Parents say after a year of pivoting from remote, to hybrid, and now full-time in-person school, they are used to being flexible.
"It's been so much up in the air that, you know, it's kind of par for the course for this year," said Pam Connor, a Lexington middle school mother.
Last week, state education officials said schools would not have the option to go fully remote for a heat day. If schools take a full day, they have to make them up at the end of June. A half day does not need to be made up.
