DENVER (KDVR) — The record high temperatures for the first day of school Monday brought challenges to some Denver schools without air conditioning.
With another day in the upper 90s, 14 Denver Public Schools campuses decided to release students early on Tuesday. Those schools were:
- Godsman Elementary
- Steele Elementary
- Bryant Webster Dual Language
- Robert F. Smith STEAM High School
- Stedman Elementary
- Polaris Elementary
- Columbine Elementary
- Cowell Elementary
- Skinner Middle School
- Goldrick Elementary
- Cory Elementary
- Carson Elementary
- McMeen Elementary
- University Park Elementary
Stedman Elementary School in Park Hill has fans set up around the school. Staff have opened windows, turned off lights and closed blinds, but the temperature in some of the classrooms was near 90 degrees Monday.
“We had some issues. Some kids were complaining they had headaches, some of them cried,” said Maddelyn Lascra, a third-grade Spanish teacher.
So Principal Michael Atkins and the school district decided to release students early Tuesday.
“I didn’t want that to be a barrier for learning and, more importantly, a barrier for safety,” Atkins said.
Transportation and meals were still provided.
Stedman is one of the 24 schools slated to get air conditioning thanks to a voter-approved bond measure in 2020.
“We are on the list to receive AC. The construction has begun here at Stedman, it just won’t be complete this year, but we are hopeful that this is the last Aug. 22 that we are dealing with the heat,” Atkins said.
But even after all that work is complete at those schools, there will still be 31 DPS schools without AC.
