SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — It’s a big week for 14-year-old Mariana King, who started her last year of middle school at Birney in Southfield on Monday. However, her first week back was put on pause late Monday evening with class suddenly canceled for Tuesday.
“I really want to go back to school," Mariana said. "Now I got one whole day without school.”
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Related video: Detroit Public Schools shorten first day back because of heat
The district canceled all classes and after school activities Tuesday due to excessive heat, with the heat index expected to reach over 100 degrees.
“To me, the classes are cold. They're real cold, so I don't understand the heat,” Mariana said.
While Mariana says her school has air conditioning, other districts like Eastpointe and Detroit are also making changes due to heat, moving to an early dismissal Tuesday. Detroit’s Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says many of their schools don’t have air conditioning.
"We start this year about 50% have air conditioning. In the next five years, all but 10 will have air conditioning, so just excited to make this investment," Vitti said.
Parents like Meghan Davis say the last-minute changes are an inconvenience to parents. While her kids go to a charter school in Detroit, she hopes those investments in air conditioning happen quick.
“I think about when I was younger, we went to school whether it was hot or cold," parent Davis said. "I just hope these schools would really consider the learning environment, you know? It is important to make sure we have the boilers in tact, the air conditioning working, so these kids can be able to attend school and the teachers get their job done.”
Mariana says she's disappointed class is canceled. While summer break may be over, the summer heat isn’t going anywhere.
“Most of my friends were probably like hey, we just got back and we seen our friends and stuff like that," Mariana said.
