Posted Sunday, Sept. 3
A heat advisory issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is expected to continue through Tuesday evening, Sept. 5. Administrators at Vancouver Public Schools are monitoring the situation, which is currently classified as a “red flag warning” due to hot temperatures and dry conditions. Smoke from regional forest fires is affecting air quality.
Please monitor the VPS website for updates to this message.
The health and wellbeing of our students and staff members are our highest priority. We will monitor the temperature of our schools and classrooms as well as the air quality outside. While most of our schools are fully air conditioned, some areas of our older schools are not. Maintenance and custodial crews will work to cool those schools overnight, and a plan to move students to cooler areas of those schools will be enacted as soon as classrooms become too warm.
Playgrounds and athletics
During high temperatures and/or poor air quality, students will not go outdoors for recess. After-school athletics will not hold practice outdoors during high temperatures and/or poor air quality. Student athletes should check with their coaches to find out if practices will be held inside or canceled.
How parents can help
Please make sure your child has a water bottle. Water bottles can be refilled throughout the day at school. Also, make sure your child’s school has an up-to-date health plan alerting the staff of asthma or other health concerns that could compromise your child’s safety during high temperatures and poor outdoor air quality.
Transportation
VPS school buses are equipped with tinted windows to keep them cool. Windows will be lowered to allow maximum air flow inside the bus.
For more information
Clark County Public Health
https://www.clark.wa.gov/public-health/protect-yourself-others-heat-and-smoke-during-coming-lengthy-heat-wave
National Weather Service
Heat safety: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/heat/index.shtml
Red Cross
Heat wave safety: http://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/heat-wave-safety
