Adverse Situations - Benchmark

Jasmine Tolbert

Grand Canyon University: EAD -536

Reida Roberts

June 3, 2021
Management and Operational Systems 

The main decision to be made is whether or not staff and students should evacuate

or remain in the building. Without making that decision it will be challenging to make a plan

moving forward. The secondary decision is to decide what the course of action should be after

that. The most valuable information that is needed is the following: 

 What is the district policy or plan for instances like this? 

 What are the additional cooling resources in the building and district that could

support relieving the school? 

 How quickly can dismissal occur and what is the procedure for notifying parents

and guardians of an emergency dismissal? 

Human, Fiscal, and Technological Resources 

In the planning process, before making the final decision, teachers and staff need to be

kept in the loop. The most effective way to disseminate information will be through email

or GChat. This will allow teachers to receive the information in real-time but also give them the

respect of maintaining control over their classrooms. No teacher feels respected when they are

given directives over the intercom in earshot of students. The intercom can, however, be used

to let teachers know that they will receive information about the developing situation. Another

reason to ensure that teachers are the first receivers of the information is that students may feel

that they should notify their parents of the situation with underdeveloped information. This could

lead to swarms of parents in the office or calling the front office which will delay the school’s

ability to handle the situation promptly. In the interim, teachers and staff should be provided with

water and fans as well as moved from rooms that are already significantly warm.
   

Safety and Welfare of Students and Staff 

The state of Arizona has set a mandate on the required temperature of classrooms when

occupied. “A school facility shall have an HVAC system capable of maintaining a temperature

between 68° and 82° F under normal conditions with an occupied classroom” (Arizona

Administrative Code  2020). Based on the current temperature of 98 degrees at noon and the

knowledge that the hottest time of the day is 3 pm because the sun is at its highest point, the

school must for legal reasons begin their evacuation plan if the air conditioning units cannot be

restarted. Per district policy, each school must decide when it is the appropriate time

to evacuate. “Due to the excessive heat that comes..., the district has established a heat indicator

rating scale that determines when indoor activity only is required. It is a combination of

humidity and temperature and is monitored by the district and communicated out to the schools

throughout the instructional day” (School Schedules / High Heat Days (Excessive Heat)). 

Collaboration with Faculty and Community 

The effort to solicit the support of stakeholders is to reach out to the district office

for recommendations on how to handle this situation. In most cases, districts are required to have

a backup plan when classroom temperatures are no longer optimal. The New York State

united teacher’s union has proposed a bill that requires all classrooms to be vacated at 88 degrees

Fahrenheit with steps to cool the school starting at 82 degrees Fahrenheit. It has also been

proposed that schools designate an individual that is responsible or the upkeep and monitoring

of these school's heating and cooling systems. Reaching out to the district office will provide an

additional context of the situation as well as additional options that may not have been
considered. The next set of stakeholders that should we communicate with are the health

care and nursing staff in the building. These trained professionals would know best what students

are most likely to be severely affected by an increase in temperature along with what symptoms

we should be cognizant of as we are transitioning teachers and students out of the heat. Reaching

out to these individuals acknowledges their expertise and provides the school leadership team

with accurate information on the perceived health of the staff and students. The transportation

staff should also be communicating with as they would know best how to execute dismissal

safely and efficiently. Buses would need to be called to the school to transport students home

along with any daycare providers that transport students to and from the school as well. The

transportation department would also be able to contact parents as students are transitioning on

the school buses grew the district bus transportation app. For school facilities department is

another set of stakeholders that should be included in the decision-making process. Even if the

best choice is for students and staff to evacuate the building today, it is important for me as the

principal of the school to understand the prognosis of this situation overall. I need to know if the

air conditioning units will be fully functioning by the start of the school day tomorrow or if the

repair of these units will be an extended process that will require temporary yet permanent

accommodations to cool the building as the AC units are being repaired to support high-

quality instruction. 

Solution and Rationale 

The two solutions for addressing this situation are to evacuate the building in continue

instruction another day or continue with the instructional day and provide accommodations to

classrooms to support with mitigating the increasing temperatures throughout the day. My final
decision would be to evacuate the school allowing students and teachers to leave for the

remainder of the day. The steps to implement the solution are as follows: 

 The school district will be notified of the decision to evacuate.  

 Parents and guardians will be contacted Anne asked to provide transportation for

their students or prepare for their arrival at home if they are bus riders. 

 School buses will be asked to return to the school to transport student’s homes. 

 Upon the arrival of the school buses and any daycares that service students,

students will be dismissed. parents that arrive at the school will be allowed to pick

their students up for the remainder of the day.  

 Teachers and staff will be asked to contact parents as needed to inform them of

the school’s situation and follow up about student dismissal. 

All of these action steps will be implemented immediately with hopes to have all students and

staff members out of the building within 60 minutes. 

This solution is best because it perfectly protects the welfare and safety of both the

students and staff, complies with state and district policy's and includes the professional opinion

of all involved stakeholders. Although providing high-quality instruction is the priority of any

school district, attempting to continue with the instructional day in the current condition would

be futile. With increasing temperatures, staff and students will no longer be able to engage

instructional in a meaningful way. Although there is always the option of moving students from

one classroom to another if ultimately the air conditioning is not going to be repaired within the

instructional day the classroom temperatures are only going through increase well ultimately just

delay which the decision-making process. Once teachers and students have been displaced from

their original learning environment it is highly likely there no high-quality instruction will

continue. Rather than risk the physical mental and emotional health of my teachers and students

for the sake of racking up instructional minutes, I elect to send everyone home safely and then

assist the situation moving forward. 

 
Reference 

(2020, December 31). Arizona

Administrative Code. https://apps.azsos.gov/public_services/Title_07/7-06.pdf. 

Classroom Air Quality - Engineering & Natural Sciences. College of Engineering & Natural

Sciences. (2021, January 20). https://engineering.utulsa.edu/classroom-air-quality/. 

School Schedules / High Heat Days (Excessive Heat). / High Heat Days (Excessive Heat).

(n.d.). https://www.cusd80.com/Page/34813.