A thread: There has been a lot of talk about the importance of ventilation in schools during the #SafeSeptember discussion, so I wanted to weigh in to explain how bad one example of school ventilation truly is. @fordnation @sflecce @OntarioPCParty @TVDSB @OSSTF #OntEd 1/20
The school I teach in was built in the 1880s, with a small extension in the 60s. The heat is provided by boiler and radiators. There is no air conditioning in 90% of the school, the exception being the extension. Not surprisingly, the main office is in that area. #OntEd 2/20
From first day in September to late October, the heat in most parts of the school is unbearable. On arrival in the morning, the temperature is frequently in the high 20s, and soars to the mid-30s by end of day. Students and staff DRIP with sweat. #OntEd 3/20
Even if the temperature outside goes down, the building holds heat due to its lack of effective air movement and its brick construction. The temperature outside could drop to 18°, and it can still be in the high 20s in the school days after. #OntEd 4/20
During the winter, the boiler is cranked to the max. I frequently have to open the windows in my classroom December through March because that is the only way to control the temperature. And I’m one of the lucky ones who has that ability. #OntEd 5/20
In the late 2000s, the board had new windows installed. The prevailing opinion is that it was a poorly chosen low-bid. They have been a plague since. Many were weighted improperly, needing major force to open. They often leaked. They broke, then wouldn’t stay open. #OntEd 6/20
When broken, the only way to get circulation is to prop them open, which violates health and safety. Several people - staff AND students - have been injured by malfunctioning windows. Our board-managed repair backlog means you could wait weeks to have a window fixed. #OntEd 7/20
In 2007, one kind principal took pity, and ordered portable air conditioners for our classrooms. The result? They crashed the underpowered electrical system. We tried to stagger their use, which was not effective. They sat unused for years and were eventually ecycled. #OntEd 8/20
We have tried numerous times to complain about the temperature, and its impacts on comfort, academics, and morale. We’ve taken readings of heat and humidity. We’ve registered complaints with our health and safety reps, union reps, admin, etc. #OntEd 9/20
Nothing is done. In fact, in a recent staff meeting our then-principal informed us that the board specifically told him to stop requesting air conditioning units because those requests would be denied. #OntEd 10/20
We have been told that the building is “too old” to be retrofitted with air conditioning. This claim is made despite the fact that the secondary school that was converted into the board office was built in the 20s and they strangely managed to make it work there. 🤨 #OntEd 11/20
The fact that the decision to deny us air conditioning is being made from an air conditioned board office is one of the many truly ironic gems in this situation. #OntEd 12/20
When the boiler went out of control one winter and turned the school into a sauna for days, our principal tactlessly mused in email that the influx of heat was intentional and meant to “prepare” us for the summer temperatures to come. Like this is some kind of joke. #OntEd 13/20
And all of this, despite the fact that proper ventilation is apparently part of the @TVDSB board’s mandated “vision” for improving the education of our students because of its impacts on “comfort” and “health.” #OntEd 14/20
Numerous studies have shown that each degree of temperature increase above the level of comfort leads to a corresponding decrease in academic potential, which makes access to ventilation an equity issue as well. #OntEd 15/20
But guess what @TVDSB DID feel was a priority for our school, as evidenced by the improvement funds spent on our building most recently? Repointing the brick. While we sweltered inside, they prioritized repairing the masonry. You can’t make this stuff up. #OntEd 16/20
Now, enter Covid-19. Consider everything I’ve written above, and now add the imperative to keep children safe from a virus that thrives in poorly ventilated spaces. This is a disaster waiting to happen. It’s a disaster anyone can see coming. #OntEd 17/20
My partner, who is also a teacher, just placed an order with a family friend who sews for extra masks because, in her words “we won’t be able to use just one a day - it will be soaked by the end of first period.” #OntEd 18/20
This is a situation that has been neglected by boards and ministry for years because our comfort didn’t matter to them, and now that our very lives are at risk, there is nothing that @sflecce’s last minute, too-little-too-late ventilation funding can do to fix this. #OntEd 19/20
Someday, when all the coming shit has hit the fan, the boards, the ministry, and the government are going to claim that they did all they could to make us safe. Remember this thread. Recognize their lies. We’ve asked them for years to fix this. They CHOSE not to. #OntEd 20/20
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