CINCINNATI — The heat is forcing Tri-State schools to make some changes just as the school year is getting started.
Extreme heat is expected to continue this week, with WCPO meteorologists reporting that the hottest temperatures are yet to come, with feels-like temperatures rising to over 100 degrees.
Lockland School District canceled in-person classes for the rest of the week for grades 5-12 due to the excessive heat. The district said its main campus is without air conditioning due to renovations.
"We were able to register triple-digit feel-like temperatures inclusive of the humidity in a number of spots within our school by early Monday afternoon. With the increased heat coming, we know it will only get worse for the next several days," Superintendent Bob Longworth said in a release from the district. "Under such conditions, it will not be in the best interest of students or staff to hold classes on the main campus."
RELATED | Lockland Schools close for week citing no AC amid this week's heat advisory
Oak Hills Local Schools also said it is preparing "a contingency plan that could include closing our non-air conditioned schools and moving to remote learning later in the week." Those closures would apply to Oak Hills High School, Bridgetown Middle School, Delhi Middle School, J.F. Dulles Elementary and Springmyer Elementary. All other schools in the district would still have classes as usual.
At St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, coaches and athletic trainers are constantly filling cold tubs with ice, monitoring the real-time temperature on the field and making sure their athletes are drinking plenty of water and Gatorade throughout practice.
"If you are feeling thirsty ... or you go to the bathroom and it's a really dark color, you're behind the eight ball," said Michael Gordon, head athletic trainer at St. X. "You got to start catching up and it really starts the night before and the day before and so if you haven't drank a ton and you show up the next day for practice and you haven't drank enough, you can drink all you want, it's going to take a lot for you to catch up."
On Monday, the St. X soccer team modified practice to prepare for their game Tuesday against Walnut Hill High School.
"I want each phase to have a seven-minute set and the boys get a little recovery time so it's just very intentional," said Brian Schaeper, head soccer coach.
St. X moved football and cross country practices this week to the morning before school begins.
"If it means we're not going to put kids at risk, if it means we're going to be able to practice at a time we're not going to be at risk, significant risk for heat-related illnesses, that can be completely preventable then we're going to do whatever it takes," Gordon said.
In Fort Thomas, the Highlands High School football team also modified their practices this week by lifting in the afternoon and doing on-the-field work at 6 a.m. Head coach Bob Sphire said this decision was common sense, and an early test for their team.
"Football the conditions are never perfect, the settings are never exactly how you want it to be, so you got to be able to dance to the dance of whatever is happening at that time," Sphire said.
"You know you have football out of the way for the day and you can get through your school day pretty easily too," Highlands High School senior Luke Schneider said.
No matter what fall sport you play, it's a common message when you're competing in the heat.
"Every time we finish, it's always, 'Take care of your bodies until the next time we see you, get tons of water in you and get good meals,'" said Schaeper.
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