Updated Sept. 7, 3:36 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philly schools are off to a slow start.
More than 70 schools dismissed early Tuesday and Wednesday — the first two days of the school year — due to the extreme heat wave that’s smothering the region.
With temps hovering in the mid to upper 90s, the School District of Philadelphia later decided to dismiss nearly 100 schools early on Thursday, Sept. 7, and Friday, Sept. 8, as many school buildings have weak air conditioning systems or none at all.
However, the district has urged school communities not to buy their own air conditioners, saying the issue is not so simple to solve.
District officials say some schools have launched campaigns to buy AC units for their buildings. However, they warn that electrical systems in older buildings need to be upgraded to handle the load of additional air conditioners.
The list of affected schools has expanded to include 86 schools. They are:
Allen, Ethan
AMY James Martin
AMY Northwest
Anderson, Marian
Bache-Martin*
Bartram, John
Barton, Clara*
Blaine, James*
Bridesburg
Bridesburg Annex
Brown, Joseph H.
Building 21
Casarez, Gloria
Castor Gardens
Catharine, Joseph*
Cassidy, Lewis
Central HS
Comegys, B.
Comly, Watson
Crossan, Kennedy
Day, Anna*
Disston, Hamilton
Dunbar, Paul
Ellwood*
Emlen, Eleanor*
Fell, D Newlin
Feltonville Intermediate
Finletter, Thomas
Fitler, Edwin
Fitzpatrick, A.*
Fox Chase
Franklin, Ben HS
Franklin S. Edmonds
Furness, Horace
Gideon, Edward*
Girard, Stephen
Harding, Warren
Henry, Charles
Hill-Freedman
Hopkinson, Francis
Houston, Henry
Howe, Julia
Hunter, William
Jenks, Abram
Jenks, John S
Kirkbride, E.*
Lamberton*
Lingelbach, Anna
Locke, Alain
Loesche*
Ludlow, James
Mastbaum
McCloskey, John
McClure, A.*
McMichael, M.*
Meredith, William
Mitchell, Weir
Moore, J. Hampton
Morrison, Andrew J.
MYA
Nebinger, George*
Olney Elementary
OEC Annex
Overbrook ES
Parkway West
Patterson, John*
Penn Treaty
Rhawnhurst*
Roosevelt, T.
Rowen, William
Roxborough HS
Sayre, William
Sharswood, George*
Sheppard, Issac
SLA (BFHS)
South Phila. HS*
Spring Garden
Spruance, Gilbert*
Sullivan, James
Tilden, William
The U School
Wagner, Gen. Louis
Waring, Laura
Washington, Grover
Washington, Martha
Workshop School
(*) denotes schools with PreK/Head Start onsite.
Students in the Camden City School District also went back to school this week and they are being sent home early because they can’t be kept cool in their school buildings. The same goes for the Upper Darby, Chester Upland, and Pennridge school districts.
Find more school closing-related information here.