District 46 Officials Offer Update on Heat-Related School Closures

Community Consolidated School District 46 officials offered an update Wednesday afternoon regarding the decision to reduce school hours at Meadowview and Woodview this week due to the heat.

District officials stated that classroom temperatures at those schools were already at 80 degrees before students arrived Wednesday morning. Those temperatures rose another 3 degrees Wednesday afternoon.

The district announced Tuesday afternoon that Meadowview and Woodview would operate on a half-day schedule Aug. 28-30 due to the heat. Both schools were closed Tuesday.

Here is the full statement, which can also be found on the district website:

"Due to the high heat and humidity that the Chicagoland area has experienced this week, the decision was made to reduce the student attendance hours at Woodview and Meadowview schools. CCSD 46 follows the guidelines of the Child Care Weather Watch chart which indicates dangerous heat, cold and wind-chill factors to consider in our decisions to close buildings, or modify our education schedules. 

We have been monitoring temperatures in rooms at both Meadowview and Woodview three times a day. We also watch trends for overnight temperatures to determine the best times for attempting to bring cooler air into the buildings. Unfortunately brick buildings tend to retain heat, and we cannot leave doors or windows open in our buildings after hours. 

Room temperatures on Tuesday without students ranged from 80-89 degrees. Wednesday morning, before students arrived, the average temperature was approx. 80 degrees. The temperatures rose an additional 3 degrees in the afternoon, without students in the rooms. 

There have been many questions regarding missed attendance days due to the heat and our decision to cancel afternoon classes at these two buildings. The missed days will not need to be made up for Meadowview and Woodview students. While this is certainly not ideal, we must keep the health and safety of our students and staff in mind at all times."