It doesn't take long for the temperature to heat up inside Burncoat High School in northeast Worcester. As of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, principal Joseph Ewick described his office as"stuffy," adding that conditions are only expected to get more uncomfortable as the day progresses.Worcester is among many communities in central and western Massachusetts that are in the middle of a three-day heat wave where outside temperatures are expected to be above 90 degrees.
The early school closures aren't limited to this region: schools in the East Coast and parts of the Midwest have alsoFor now, school leaders in Worcester haven't opted to close school or end class early in response to the heat. Still, those efforts can only go so far when temperatures spike as high as they have these past few days.
In Boston, where the public school system's first day is Thursday, officials said they're working to distribute fans and water bottles to help students and staff stay cool and safe. Despite recent progress towith window air conditioning units, 14 city school buildings still don't have air conditioning.