Thanks to a series of air conditioning improvements, Gloria Casarez Elementary School and seven other schools will have cooler classrooms for the upcoming school year. The School District of Philadelphia expects that these upgrades will improve the learning environment for both teachers and children.
Awilda Balbuena has been the principal for 15 years, and this is the first time she can stroll through the school knowing her pupils won’t have to deal with the oppressive heat.
“The kids will start learning because there won’t be that obstacle of let’s take breaks, let’s get those water breaks, let’s put our heads down and cool off,” Balbuena stated.
Gloria Casarez Elementary received 41 air conditioners in July as part of the School District of Philadelphia’s larger initiative to repair the inadequate cooling in many of its older buildings.
163 of the district’s 226 buildings have adequate cooling currently, so all of the offices and schools have air conditioning. Improvements are being made, however there are still 63 buildings without adequate cooling.
Before more air conditioning units can be installed, many of these buildings need to have their electrical infrastructure significantly improved, according to Paul Bonewicz, the executive director for facilities management services.
“Some of our buildings are over 70, 80 years old, and we cannot just go put 41 units in a building that has a 400-amp circuit service coming in,” Bonewicz stated. “There’s engineering involved, there’s intensive labor because we’re, in essence, upgrading the service to the building.”
The Jalen Hurts Foundation’s most recent funding has given the district a much-needed boost as it continues to make progress. Quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles Jalen Hurts said in April that his charity would donate $200,000 to help schools install air conditioners.
Eight of the 199 units that were purchased with the funding over the summer were installed at Gloria Casarez Elementary and other schools in the district. The other seven are Fitler Academics Plus, Edward Gideon, Benjamin Franklin/Science Leadership Academy, Thomas Finletter, D. Newlin Fell, Clara Barton, and Abram Jenks.
It is anticipated that by the end of September, two more facilities, Castor Gardens Middle School and Roosevelt Elementary School, would have undergone adequate cooling.
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These improvements have more effects than just comfort. The new air conditioning, according to Balbuena, has already had an impact on teacher recruiting.
“It’s been really hard to hire teachers to come work here when I don’t have that AC as an option for them. So this year, that was part of our hiring strategy,” she stated.
Balbuena is enthusiastic about the prospects that these upgrades will present going forward, especially the potential to hold summer school for the first time in 2025.
“Summer school here next year for the first time ever,” she stated. “We’re really looking forward to that.”
