{"id":360713,"date":"2025-11-06T21:59:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T21:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/360713\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T21:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T21:59:14","slug":"philly-schools-should-prioritize-climate-preparedness-advocates-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/360713\/","title":{"rendered":"Philly schools should prioritize climate preparedness, advocates say"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was reported with Green Philly<\/a> through the Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative.<\/p>\n

In a school district that struggles to balance aging infrastructure, funding challenges, and equitable service to a largely low-income population, advocates say that prioritizing climate preparedness could proactively reduce costs, improve health, and retain staff.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia schools are experiencing the impacts of climate change. The beginnings and ends of the academic calendar are increasingly hotter with each year, leading to more school closures and early dismissals<\/a> that send students home. On the days in which students remain in hot classrooms<\/a>, studies have found that students are unable to learn<\/a>, while the cost of cooling buildings becomes steeper as fossil-fuel powered energy sources deplete<\/a>. <\/p>\n

According to district data<\/a>, nearly 26,000 students at some 57 district schools currently have \u201cinadequate cooling\u201d systems. That\u2019s more than 26% of the district\u2019s 218 school buildings.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s extensive facilities upgrades planning process, years in the making, has echoed parts of these concerns. According to the school district\u2019s survey and stakeholder feedback <\/a>from families and teachers, 56% called improving air conditioning a high priority; 34% of respondents named installing energy-saving measures a high priority as well. <\/p>\n

School staff and community activists say they\u2019ve known that many school buildings need upgrades, but the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront the \u201cvery specific concern for air quality and amplified calls for proper heating and cooling systems,\u201d explained Katy Egan, an educator and the co-chair of the Safe Air for Philly Schools campaign launched by the Philly Democratic Socialists of America. \u201cHVAC systems not only make classroom temperatures better, but they also filter.\u201d <\/p>\n

Air quality is connected to rising global temperatures. Heat waves coincided with poor air quality<\/a> for several days just this past summer in Philly. <\/p>\n

We’re here to help.<\/p>\n

Every day, Chalkbeat Philadelphia reporters are answering your questions, following the money, and digging into what’s happening in the city’s public schools. Keep up with our free newsletter, delivered every Wednesday and Friday morning.<\/p>\n

But for Egan and many others, the most pressing concern in the facilities upgrades process is the looming threat of school closures. As part of facility improvements, the district aims to modernize and renovate some schools \u2013 but will also shutter an undefined number of schools throughout the city. Community and advisory group members say the process for community engagement regarding closures has been lacking in accuracy and transparency<\/a>, and at times, seems to have been simply a public relations tool<\/a>. <\/p>\n

This month, the district announced it would delay the release of its closure plan<\/a> in an effort to gather more community feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [the district] is paying lip service to community participation and using that to manufacture consent for school closures,\u201d said Egan. \u201cWe are glad that they are talking to community members; I don\u2019t believe that they are fully listening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egan said she thinks that the district places environmental concerns low on their list of priorities. \u201cI think they don\u2019t view it as their responsibility,\u201d Egan said.<\/p>\n

Monique Braxton, a spokesperson for the district, however, said in an email that climate preparedness is a priority in the long-term facilities planning process. She pointed to the development of a transportation plan to transition from diesel to low- and zero-emission school buses<\/a>. She also said that the facilities plan is prioritizing more climate-resilient infrastructure, including a Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreements Program<\/a> and green stormwater management systems. <\/p>\n

Other stakeholder responses during the facilities feedback sessions echoed Egan\u2019s stance. Out of 333 comments on capital and environmental investments, more than one-third were about equity, and about a quarter were calls for greater transparency. <\/p>\n

Akira Drake Rodriguez is an assistant professor of urban planning at the University of Pennsylvania and member of the district\u2019s Education and Community Partners Advisory Group for the facilities planning process. <\/p>\n

Rodriguez said that the district is failing to strategize for the long-term. She says that conversations with facilities planners do not include a concrete, ongoing building maintenance plan. \u201cWe basically only have emergency maintenance,\u201d said Rodriguez. \u201cAnd when there are emergencies, then you\u2019re paying two and three times the amount for emergency trades to come out and emergency repairs to be done.\u201d <\/p>\n

As the impacts of climate change, like rising temperatures and flooding, are expected to become more prevalent, Rodriguez said those maintenance emergencies may become more frequent each year.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez believes that it is a \u201cno-brainer\u201d to include sustainability plans in the facilities upgrades process. \u201cIf you\u2019re in the process of doing a facility plan, why not think proactively about how to make school facilities greener in an effort to both reduce costs, retain students, retain staff?\u201d <\/p>\n

Rodriguez co-authored a study along with Samantha Shasanya that examined school district sustainability plans for justice and equity<\/a>. The authors discovered that the ability to think proactively and long-term is key to building a successful sustainability and climate action plan. <\/p>\n

The barriers that Philly\u2019s school district faces to proactive planning, however, are steep. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to be proactive in Philly because there\u2019s always a crisis,\u201d said Rodriguez. Earlier this year, the children\u2019s advocacy group Children First PA released a report revealing the dismal state of Philadelphia\u2019s children and families. Titled \u201cA decade of stalled progress<\/a>,\u201d the report found that many school district children withstand high levels of poverty, food insecurity, teacher turnover, and language barriers. <\/p>\n

The report also found environmental factors at home and school including poor indoor air quality and exposure to lead and mold \u201cexacerbate respiratory health disparities, leaving affected children at higher risk of missed school days, hospital visits, and chronic complications.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hence, school districts that have successfully implemented climate change preparations tend to be smaller and a bit wealthier. Denver is one such school district. <\/p>\n

Denver as a model<\/p>\n

With half of the enrolled students and a median income that is roughly $28,000 more, the Denver school district may not encounter the same level of challenges as Philadelphia. Nevertheless, Denver scored higher than Philadelphia for justice and equity in Rodriguez and Shasanya\u2019s study for their sustainability and climate action plan, or SCAP.<\/p>\n

Miles Hoffman, the operations manager of the Sustainability team at Denver Public Schools, said that much of the progress and the high score of the district\u2019s SCAP<\/a> comes down to placing students at the center of the work. \u201cThe development of the CAP was really a student-led movement supported by the district,\u201d explained Hoffman. <\/p>\n

Hoffman said students have seen the impact of climate change firsthand. Wildfires \u2013 like the Marshall fire of 2021<\/a> that tore through neighboring Boulder County \u2013 are becoming more frequent and more destructive<\/a> in the state as the planet warms. \u201cThis was a reaction and response to climate change\u201d from the students, said Hoffman. <\/p>\n

DPS Students for Climate Action<\/a> is the award-winning campaign that led that response. Students spoke in front of the school board and developed the climate action plan<\/a> with the sustainability team. The plan was then adopted and is now policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving it as a board policy gives us a leg to stand on,\u201d said Hoffman. \u201cIt is well-communicated and well-understood that climate action is of great importance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baked into the plan is clear language regarding equity and environmental justice: a recognition that Black and brown communities bear the brunt of climate change, as is the case in Philadelphia<\/a>. The district prioritized running EV buses through underserved communities first; is building solar projects that will help offset energy costs for district families; and is utilizing a heat and air quality vulnerability map<\/a> to prioritize HVAC upgrades throughout the district. They are installing AC at 29 schools, 20 of which will be air source heat pumps.<\/p>\n

Denver Public Schools aligned its SCAP with that of the city, since it was clear that reaching the city\u2019s climate goals would depend on the action of the district. Hoffman says the district meets regularly with the city, and that departments outside of the sustainability teams have ownership over shared goals. He feels that that ownership creates a sense of urgency for all parties to collaborate. <\/p>\n

The School District of Philadelphia introduced its first SCAP back in 2016 called GreenFutures<\/a>, which was modeled after Greenworks<\/a>, former Mayor Nutter\u2019s sustainability plan. Under this plan, SDP has been able to enter into contracts with Philadelphia Energy Authority to improve energy efficiency<\/a> in 24 schools and has partnered with the city\u2019s Philly Tree Plan<\/a>. The district also partnered with Philadelphia Gas Works to conduct a study on the feasibility of geothermal energy<\/a> at John F. McCloskey Elementary and a neighboring recreation center. <\/p>\n

They are now working on the second version of the plan, GreenFutures 2.0, yet to be released. Rodriguez hopes that there can be greater collaboration between the city and district in the next plan. Moreso, though, she hopes it will be a priority. <\/p>\n

\u201cClimate change isn\u2019t going away, so schools are going to have to eventually green themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angie Bacha is a Philadelphia-based solutions journalist, you can reach her at angiebacha1@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was reported with Green Philly through the Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative. In a school district that struggles…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":89934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,59926,38612,1448,2830,1311,18823,59927,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-360713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-andrew-hamilton-public-school","10":"tag-meeting","11":"tag-pa","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-philadelphia","14":"tag-philly","15":"tag-public-forum","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115505002152162951","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}