TIFFIN, Ohio — Tiffin City Schools students were supposed to start the year on Tuesday, but administrators decided to push the date to Thursday due to high temperatures and heat indices over 100 degrees.
Sarah Leonard, a parent of two TCS students says she's happy to wait for her son to start the school year he is a diabetic and heat can impact his sugar levels.
"I'd rather him be home and safe so I can keep an eye on him," she said.
Leonard said she has seen social media chatter opposing the district's choice to postpone the start date.
"Back in the day when we were in school, there wasn't air conditioning and stuff. But it does affect how kids learn, too. If they're hot and sweaty, they're not going to learn anything," she said.
TCS Superintendent Jerry Nadeau said sending kids to school doesn't make sense when oppressive heat is a factor, and that it's especially important to keep in mind since studies have found it to be detrimental to a child's wellbeing.
"It basically says for every one degree of Fahrenheit that goes into the excess heat, it affects our learning by 1%. Our test scores go down, our ability to stay on track, behavior, mood all increase (poorly)," Nadeau said, referencing a study from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
He added that heat inside classrooms can be a problem too, with teachers not being allowed to keep their classroom doors open for air flow due to safety reasons. With no air conditioning in the buildings, either, it creates a poor learning environment.
"We talk toughing it out," Nadeau said. "Sometimes making tough decisions and being able to bear the responsibility and model them for our students. We have to do what we think is best given the information we have. We're protecting our students' wellbeing, it's more important than making them tough."
According to the WTOL 11 Weather Team, high temperatures on Thursday are expected to be in the 80s.