High temperatures across metro Detroit are forcing some school districts to make major schedule changes this week.
In Pontiac, schools will have a half day; in Detroit, students will be dismissed three hours early; and in Southfield, all schools are closed for the day, including all school-related activities.
Classes were set to resume for the Southfield Public School District, but they will instead resume Wednesday due to the possibility of record-high temperatures today.
Parents and guardians are making last-minute adjustments.
"I work with kids, so I knew that there was a heat wave coming, but I was hoping they would be there," Aubrielle Kituuma said.
Her two kids go to the district.
"They were off on Friday as well. I wasn't ready for that so that was a surprise. So now we go from Friday to Monday and now Tuesday so it definitely requires some extra planning to accommodate that," she said.
Temperatures are expected to hit 90 degrees across the area and even higher feels-like temperatures. The district said 10 of their buildings need HVAC upgrades.
In a statement, Superintendent Jennifer Brown said, "The safety and well-being of our students and staff are our foremost priorities."
She goes on to say while she understands it's inconvenient, the closure is necessary to protect everyone from the excessive heat.
Southfield isn't the only district dealing with excessive heat. DPSCD announced plans to dismiss students three hours early. But Dearborn Schools says it will open its classrooms.
In a letter to parents, Superintendent Glenn Maleyko says while many schools have limited air conditioning, classes will go on as scheduled... saying in part, "closing the entire district would not only create an inconvenience for many of our families but we would be depriving our students of their education/learning opportunities….We will take appropriate precautions, will ensure that students are hydrated, will limit physical activities, and will move instruction to cooler locations in the schools as necessary and as determined by staff in specific buildings."
Dearborn says four of their schools will soon get that much-needed AC upgrades.
