GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Public Schools will be closed for the remainder of the week, the district announced Wednesday evening.
GRPS canceled all classes and after school activities for Thursday and Friday due to " the extreme heat.”
Hudsonville Public Schools will also be closed on Friday due to the extreme heat. The district says the Early Childhood Center daycare will remain open.
Temperatures reached the 90s Wednesday and are expected to climb even higher for the rest of the week.
Leon Hendrix, the executive director of communications and external affairs for GRPS, says the district weighed the impact on student learning with safety.
Grand Rapids Public Schools will be CLOSED Thursday and Friday (June 1 and 2, 2023) due to extreme heat.
— GRPublicSchools (@GRPublicSchools) May 31, 2023
Learn more: https://t.co/m21ljTQUiD pic.twitter.com/zhqOpiLayz
"Today, with temperatures going into the 90s, we started getting complaints and frustrations from people in our buildings about how it felt. And we saw temperatures in some of our classrooms exceeding 80 degrees, and that's not comfortable. And more importantly, it poses a potential safety concern," he said after announcing the decision to close for two days.
Hendrix says some of the district's buildings have air-conditioning, but eight of them do not.
"Our team monitored temperatures in GRPS buildings throughout the day Wednesday and some of them were simply too warm," GRPS Superintendent Dr. Leadriane Roby said. "That not only makes the learning environment a challenge, but it also raises a safety concern."
Hendrix added that there are no reported illnesses from the warm temperatures some students dealt with Wednesday.
"In a district this large, it really starts to get difficult, and communicating with families saying one school is open, another one's closed. So we decided it would be in the best interest of all of our families to just put a pause on school for the rest of this week," Hendrix said.
No one was sickened by the heat on Wednesday, but Hendrix said the closure was a preemptive decision to keep students safe.
Kent Co. Extreme Heat Fact Sheet by WXMI on Scribd
"We're just encouraging our kids to make sure they find some shade or some reprieve inside to keep out of the heat. And we hope that they'll maybe pick up a book and enjoy some time to learn at home," Hendrix said.
The district administration offices will remain open Thursday and Friday.
The last day of school is Friday, June 9.
