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Benchmark - Adverse Situations

Reyna D. Preciado

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD 536: Strategic Leadership and Management in the Principalship

Mike Sollitto

November 9, 2022
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Adverse Situations

The Arizona heat is nothing to take lightly. With temperatures that can easily rise above

110° Fahrenheit in May, it is important to ensure that the health and well-being of students is

taken into consideration even when there is a working HVAC system. As the principal of Sunset

Hill, I am responsible for the well being of nearly 800 K-8 students. While visiting classrooms

on campus it became evident that the rooms were beginning to become hotter with each visit. By

noon I was informed that central air in the buildings down and it became evident that students

were beginning to be become uncomfortable.

Management and Operational Systems

Rising temperatures in the multiple classrooms is a concern for student and staff health.

As heat in the classrooms rise it becomes important to determine the next steps in ensuring that

they are all safe and that the school is a suitable learning environment. My first step would be to

identify what buildings are being affected by the malfunctioning HVAC system to determine the

amount students and staff directly impacted. This will also help me identify if there is a location,

or multiple location on campus that would potentially house the classes affected.

Human, Fiscal, and Technological Resources

During this situation it would be important to utilize the staff in the best way possible.

Utilizing the office staff and assistance principals will allow for more communication to be done

quicker. I would use the assistant principal to be the contact with the facilities manager to deter-

mine the speed in which the HVAC system could be fixed. This is important because it will de-

termine the length in which accommodation will need to be made for the classes in need. While

this is happening, I would contact all teachers in the rooms affected to ensure them that we are

aware of the situation and are doing our best to remedy the problem. Using security, I would
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identify any large areas (i.e. library, cafeteria, gym) available that may be cooler and suitable for

use.

Safety and Welfare of Students and Staff

Arizona Administrative Code R 7-6-213 A. states “a school facility shall have an HVAC

system capable of maintaining a temperature between 68° and 82 F under normal conditions with

an occupied classroom” (Justia, 2022).

The Phoenix Union High School policy regarding emergency related to weather states:

“Weather - Related and Emergency Closings

The decision to delay opening of school or to dismiss school early will be made by

the Superintendent.

If possible, the Board President will be informed of such decisions and will be noti-

fied when all students have departed from school.”

Collaboration with Faculty and Community

If unable to identify a location on campus to house the classes that are affected by the

failing HVAC system, I would have to contact District for approval to send students home. In

this case I would also have to contact staff, students, and parents to explain the situation and the

need to evacuate the campus. As well as the system to have them evacuated in an orderly fash-

ion. Communication with staff would be done through email, which would include the message

needed to be sent out to the students. While this communication is being sent our staff robo-calls,

emails, and text blast would be sent out to our parents with the plan for picking up their children.

It important in a crisis to not rely on only a single method of communication, “not all parents can
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be reached the same way, or interact the same way” (UNICEF, 2020). By sending out the mes-

sage to parents and guardians in different ways will help ensure that they receive the information

in the most timely manner.

Solution and Rationale

Since the case study states that only the main building is being affected by the failing

HVAC system, I believe the best remedy for this issue is move the classes from the building into

larger facilities for the remainder of the school day. This would happen immediately to ensure

that no student have any health issues as a result of extreme heat. The areas included would be

the cafeteria, library, and gymnasium. The cafeterias use does mean that students whose class-

rooms were not impacted by the failing HVAC system would have to eat their lunches in their

classroom to ensure the cafeteria does not get over crowded. To make this work fluidly adminis-

tration would have to communicate with teachers the system in which students would line up, get

lunch and then be escorted back to class. This would require the help of any available office staff

to ensure students are escorted to the cafeteria and back to class without interruption. This would

give the teacher the ability to stay in the classroom and wait for their students return.

The three areas will be divided into grade levels. The cafeteria will consist of the kinder-

garten, first, and second grades; gymnasium will house third, fourth and fifth grades; and the li-

brary will have seventh and eighth grades. At the end of the day, a robo-call would be sent to

parents/guardians to inform them about the issue and the temporary solution. A letter will also be

sent home with students with the same information. Any office staff impacted should also be dis-

persed among the three buildings. Though volunteer office staff should stay to man phone calls

and parent drop-ins. These staff member will be given a fan to help ease the heat.
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Since Arizona law dictates that classrooms be no higher than 82° F, it is important to act

quickly to resolve the situation. With no definite timeline on when the system will be fixed, com-

ing up with a solution that could work for a couple of days would be in the best interest of all

parties. Not knowing the amount of students also makes it important to find a space that will be

big enough for a large student body. Keeping students who are close in age together will also

help with management of the students. Younger students are purposely held in the cafeteria, to

help offset any messy activity or lunch and snack time mess. Cafeteria and gym allows those

younger students ample amount of space as well to move around and play without much restric-

tion. With it being necessary for the superintendent to determine whether a school should be

closed due to weather and since they are also in charge of ensuring maintenance this solution

works best for the few hours that are left in the school day.
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Resources

Justia. (2022). Arizona Administrative Code Title 7 - Education, Chapter 6 - School Facilities

Board, Article 2 - Minimum School Facility Guidlines, Section R7-6-213 - Classroom

Temperature. https://regulations.justia.com/states/arizona/title-7/chapter-6/article-2/r7-6-

213/

UNICEF. (2020). Tips for schools on how to strengthen communication with parents/caregivers.

https://www.unicef.org/romania/stories/tips-schools-how-strengthen-communication-par-

entscaregivers