Several people have reached out to us about the climate in our building. The purpose of this communication is to update you about where we are at.
In our main classroom building, we have radiators that are heated by steam. Because of this, and a lack of central air-conditioning system, we do not have the desired ventilation in order to safely have school.
Each classroom has a wall of windows. The lower windows are casement windows. They swing open just like a door does. During our colder months, these windows should always be closed. The upper windows are transom windows. To maintain the proper air flow, we must have these transom windows open. These transom windows should only be open a couple of inches in order to get the desired air flow.
Finally, we installed several exhaust fans in the building. The open transom windows along with the exhaust fans are what keeps our building safe from the virus. If we close these windows and/or turn off the exhaust fans, we will not be able to have school.
In October, we feared that we may not have school during our colder months because the temperature in the building dropped drastically. We had temperature readings in the low 50s in some classrooms. At that point, our facilities team worked to come up with a solution that has kept our building much warmer, even during this cold spell.
With all that being said, we have relaxed the dress code because some of our rooms are colder than they would usually be, albeit by only a few degrees. Students have the opportunity to dress accordingly, which they should take advantage of.
