Metro Atlanta Schools and how they are navigating the heat wave

Writer: Gabriela Enamorado

August 2023 — The U.S. education system is no stranger to dealing with challenges, from funding to teacher shortages and student safety. However, students in Georgia — and around the country — are grappling with extreme heat that may have lasting effects on the quality of learning.

With the state of Georgia recording its hottest week of the year last week, temperatures have forced schools to reevaluate some of their operations and schedules, as school-day exposure to higher temperatures has a measurable impact on student achievement. 

According to a 2018 National Bureau of Economic Research paper, “without air conditioning, each 1° F increase in school year temperature reduces the amount learned that year by one percent.”

Atlanta schools are currently dealing with A/C issues starting from their bus ride in the morning to after-school activities.

“Fulton County Schools (FCS) maintains a fleet of 925 buses, 160 of which have air-conditioning, and those buses serve our special needs population. In September of 2023, FCS will receive 30 72-passenger buses to serve our general education students which will feature air-conditioning and three-point seatbelts,” said Fulton County Public Schools in a statement to Channel Action 2. Atlanta Public Schools says 55% of their fleet has air conditioning while Cobb County Schools has 88 buses with A/C, utilizing fans as a replacement.

As some students arrive at school, the A/C issues persist.

“With this blistering heat that we have right now, a lot of our A/C units are working overtime and are trying to keep up with that hot weather, so units are going to go down,” Erick Hofstetter, COO of DeKalb County Schools told Atlanta News First. “Units are going to go down. Our guys are going to respond, our team members are going to respond.”

A 2020 study by the General Accounting Office (GAO) estimated that 41% of districts need to update or replace heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in half or more of their schools — amounting to 36,000 schools nationwide.

The challenge is only exacerbated for outdoor activities such as team sports, band practice and other after-school programs.

“We bring our kids in late, as late in the afternoon as possible to meet and watch films with them — especially before school starts — so we’re getting a lot of the mental prep work done,” Stephen Holmes, head football coach for Manchester High School, told GPB Sports. 

“To beat the heat as late in the day as possible, we’ve got a great plan and we’ve got a great space to practice inside if there are thunderstorms and that’s the best way to handle it.” In July 2023, the Biden administration announced additional measures to protect communities from extreme heat, which included preparing schools for extreme heat through the Schools as Community Cleaner Air and Cooling Centers program as well as $136 million for its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.