May 30, 2018

Dear Parent/Guardian,

As we come to the end of May, we have already started to experience warmer temperatures in Toronto and for many of our schools, that means uncomfortable conditions are possible inside classrooms.

Across the TDSB, while some schools are fully air conditioned and some are partially air conditioned, others have no air conditioning. During these warmer temperatures, particularly during days of extreme heat which are no doubt around the corner, our schools do their very best to keep students cool by closing blinds, using fans, relocating to cooler areas where possible, encouraging students to drink water, reducing strenuous activities such as some gym activities, etc. As always, if there are students that have a particular susceptibility to heat or have medical concerns, students and/or parents are encouraged to speak with the Principal and they’ll do their best to accommodate them during warmer days.

The TDSB is in the process of creating cooling centres at all of our schools that don’t have full building air conditioning. This plan would cool large areas such as gyms or libraries so that students would have access to a cooler area on days of extreme heat. While we have recently accelerated the rollout of these cooling centres, given the hundreds of schools involved, the plan is expected to take approximately 4 years to fully implement. In the meantime, staff are now working to install temporary air conditioning units in school libraries to act as a temporary cooling area for any school that does not have A/C or does not already have a cooling centre. This work is expected to be complete by the end of this week.

We appreciate your understanding of the situation as we work to make our schools as comfortable as possible during this warmer weather. For more information on heat at TDSB schools, including the challenges we face to provide full building air conditioning, visit: www.tdsb.on.ca/About-Us/Severe-Weather

TDSB