Heat Thursday Means Early Dismissal - Again - For Waltham High

WALTHAM, MA — It's going to be another hot one Thursday. And with that info in hand, Waltham High School officials decided to release students at noon, for the second time this week, the district announced.

Students will get lunch before dismissal, according to the superintendent's office. But it looks like some after school program schedules may be affected. The high school is the only school in the city without reliable AC, Superintendent Drew Echelson told Patch. That means all middle and elementary schools will operate on their regular schedules.

Waltham High School has some AC, but it doesn't reach the entire building and the upper floors are particularly susceptible to sweltering temperatures inside when the mercury rises outside, Echelson said.

And hot temperatures are more than uncomfortable according to some recent studies.

An analysis published by the National Bureau of Economic Research compared student test scores along side temperatures suggested that when classrooms get too hot it keeps students from learning as well as they would in more comfortable temperatures. It also says that uncomfortable temperatures could have lasting impacts on students' future success and their ability to contribute. It also found that adequate investment in school infrastructure – namely AC – helps.

If you're thinking of just having your teen head to the Waltham Public Library after school, think again: The library closed Wednesday afternoon because of HVAC issues and is slated to stay closed until they're fixed.

Waltham School Calendar 2018-19

Waltham Students Head Back To School: What To Know

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff