Let the nonsense begin!!! Is there a politician who doesn't run on the platform "our kids and education are the most important things"? Yet, when the parents raise an issue regarding their children's educational environment, there isn't the money available. The way Politicians use kids to further their career aspirations is a travesty.

Amen! How about teaching in a major US city, a first world country, where you can't drink the water, often have no heat, and often no air conditioning. Mold is everwhere. Rodents and roaches not uncommon, roofs leak, patched floor tiles rarely match, on and on! Somehow we think "our most precious resources" should live in this environment all day every day. This is their childhood!

Children and parents are spoiled nowadays. Twenty years ago, no school had air condition and somehow we all managed to learn. Parents should advocate for more important things, like textbooks, programs, etc. A little sweat didn't hurt anyone.

Absolutely Jen. A little sweat is unlikely to hurt anyone permanently. But is that really the point?

All of my college educated friends have jobs where they have air conditioning and the opportunity to leave the room to pee whenever the mood hits them. They also generally have offices (or cubicles at least) that are cleaned regularly by someone else, furnished by their company not their own pocketbook, and sometimes even a nice selection of hot beverages or a cafeteria that caters to adults. They also do not share their workspace with 20-30 hot, sweaty, grumpy people and their BO.

I know it would be expensive to air condition schools adequately, but having taught in both schools with and without air, it's a no brainer to know that hot, tired kids don't learn. Nor do hot, uncomfortable teachers effectively teach.

When I transferred from a older BCPSS school to a newer building, wonder of wonders, I stopped getting sick so much, I haven't had a single child have an asthma attack in my classroom, and I was able to stop screaming my lesson over the three box fans that I had running the entire month of June.

Don't get me started on the bugs.

One of the Baltimore County board members, Meg O'Hare, has often described air conditioning as a 20th-century amenity - something that should be more or less expected in schools at this point.

Inequity is also an issue for some: even though slightly more than half of the schools lack A.C., there are obviously facilities where students do have that amenity.

The ACLU of MD's Education Reform Project has been advocating for adequate school facilities for several years. The condition of school facilities has a large impact on teacher retention and student achievement. Baltimore City has a major school infrastructure problem with little resources to address the $1 billion in deferred maintenance. These problems aren't luxuries; they are necessities. All students and teachers deserve working boilers, good ventilation, adequate lighting, science labs, etc.

Please click on the link below to learn more about funding for school facilities and contact the ACLU at patinella@aclu-md.org if you're interested in getting involved in the effort to bring all school buildings to adequacy.

http://www.aclu-md.org/aTop%20Issues/EducationReform.html

I was shocked when I heard that the elementary school my son will attend, Joppa View, does not have air conditioning despite being built less than 10 years ago! Apparently the duct work is there for a/c to be put in, but the county hasn't done it. This is pure cheapness on their part. My neighbors keep their kids home on the hot days because it's just too hot for them to learn. I feel sorry for the poor teachers who have to attend either way.

I went to Old Court middle, and it had no air. However, because it was an older building, the windows opened easily and the building was well-ventilated. Newer schools are not built with the expectation that it will be hot in the summer. Newer buildings are designed for a/c to be installed in them. So they are even hotter for our kids and our teachers.

I do not mean to imply that people at Old Court and similarly situated schools do not deserve to have air installed. My point is that it is pure cheapness on the County's part to omit air conditioning from buildings that are just now being built, especially when they are both designed and equipped to handle it! Children learn better when they're comfortable--why should we not do everything possible to increase their performance?

As a city teacher, I've never taught in a city school with air conditioning, nor have I ever been provided with fans. However, at this point, I would be glad just to get paper for my class!

Jen - you're right, sweat never hurt anybody. But when your school doesn't have proper ventilation and you've got entire classes with nosebleeds or fainting or throwing up then it becomes a severe problem.

I once had 8 students out of 15 throwing up in my trash can because of the heat. I have experienced these stories firsthand.

NOTE: The county is not the only place that needs air! City schools are DESPERATE for renovations and AC!!!

It's hard to imagine a modern world without air conditioning. Ductless split air conditioners are mainly used in schools. These systems provide zone cooling facility and help in energy saving using the thermostat that helps in controlling the zones independently.

Jen, we teachers advocate for it all! We also buy most of it ourselves. but there are some things we can't fix. During the hot days a couple weeks ago, we had rooms that were 87-90 degrees! No fans, no air. Very humid. Mold. Allergies.Asthma. Further, many rooms either have no windows,bars on windows that do not allow windows to open, an dno fresh,outside air circulating. There are lots of things that we did not used to have that we have now. That is called progress. Many of our kids have impaired health. It is so easy for people to wrtite flip answers. Today I did not have time to eat, never got to the bathroom, and worked a 14 hour day at school! Please try to show a bit of understanding and appreciation for hard working, caring teachers.

I was in a building last week that has a combination of central air and some classes that have individual units. I believe that this is due to parts of the building being additions.
Anyway, I was in a class with an individual unit that was broken. It was 93 in the classroom. The windows only open a little - so basically not air movement.
Not a good learning environment at all. This was only one day. I can't imagine having to teach/learn in those conditions on a daily basis - not good.

Less time off during the year and (or?) a few months with longer instructional days... et voila!

No longer a need to even have the buildings occupied during June or August at all (or the last week in May or first week in September) and everyone involved can (once again) have a proper 3 month summer vacation.

OTOH, if the goal is to shift to a 12 month instructional year...

I never went to a school that had air conditioning. I am guessing the room got to at least 90 degrees and we never had anyone throwing up or passing out. One year, there was a leak and every time it rained our classroom floor flooded, causing us to squish around in the carpet for days. I am almost positive there was mold growing in that classroom. And since I went to a school that had to wear uniforms that meant no shorts or cool tops.

My parents are both teachers and my brother too. I know what their days are like. They didn't get into the profession so they could have glorious jobs that resulted in going to the bathroom when they wanted to get, having things bought from them or dealing with kids that were perfect angels. They became teachers to make a difference. They never complained about what they didn't have. I have great respect for them and other teachers who do the same.

I am guessing all of you teachers knew what you were getting into when you decided to be a teacher. If you hate it that much, which some of you sound like you do, then get out.

@Jen, where do they teach? I've taught in many places in my life;city, suburban,private, in the US, out of the country. Trust me when I tell you that there is no equity between school districts. I teach in the City. My children went to Howard County Schools. There is positively NO comparison. My county teacher friends give me things they have that are extra and all the things they throw out in June(ex markers, crayons, paper, etc) and I use them for several more years. Ditto for library books, some text books, math supplies, etc. I will do anything to get what my students need to support instruction. I buy food for hungry kids, glasses, shoes, winter coats, whatever is needed. And by the way on their worst days, I believe my kids are angels. Truly, I am glad you did not choose teaching as a profession. Your teaching peers and your students would need much more compassion, support,energy, and understanding than you would ever be able to demonstrate! You insults posted anonomously are cowardly. Trust Sara with your contact information and meet me and my kids in person!

@ Jen

You're right in that we teachers know what we're getting into when we start: misbehaving students, low salaries, long hours, etc...those things are part of the job of teaching and we knew that. Please don't mistake complaining about doing a tough job (which everyone does) with hating our jobs.

Additionally, don't confuse believing that teachers and students deserve a higher minimum standard of working conditions with us being big whiny crybabies who want the red carpet rolled out for us. I don't think it's too much to ask for our children to be educated in buildings with ventilation and without mold. I'm glad you and your peers survived the hot classrooms of your youth. It's not so easy for all children to thrive under these circumstances. As I read it now, your comment seems to say that these kids need to suck it up because you had to when you were younger and to me, this sounds callous and ignorant. I hope that I am mistaken and you use the space below to correct me by clarifying your statements.

One last thought. We need to move away from the idea that kids need to suck anything up. The children I teach have sucked up more in their 4-12 years than I have in a long lifetime! Our goal should be to give them the highest quality education in the most magical setting possible. Our desire should be to give them a terrific childhood by teaching them not only content but by creating a physically and emotionally safe and beautiful place for them to grow. If you consider the breakfast program in which almost all my students participate, the full school day, and after school programs, most kids spend close to ten hours of their waking day at school.

The original discussion on the topic of AC evolved into a discussion of facilities in general. In my mind the discussion became bigger because of the seemingly callous and mean-spirited comments made in this blog.To all blog readers, you should all be thrilled that most educators care a as much as they do and go so far out of their way to speak for the children and yes, for ourselves! I will never stop advocating for my students, never stop training teacher interns, never stop advocating for the teaching field, and never stop believing that we do not have to accept substandard anything to prove that we are dedicated!!!!!!!!!

Proper adjustment, cleanliness of blower and components are necessary for adequate airflow to assure proper capacity and equipment reliability.