Heat stress affects students AND staff — What to do?
Heat stress affects students AND staff By Dorothy Wigmore a long-time health and safety specialist and WEC consultant. She has worked in Canada, the U.S. and Mozambique, focusing on prevention and worker participation to fix job-related hazards. It’s hard to ignore the heat-related warnings about the climate emergency in New Jersey: The 2025 New Jersey Scientific Report on Climate Change said the state “continues to warm faster than the rest of the Northeast region and the world.” In 2025, a 30-year analysis found that higher temperatures increase the odds of heat waves in the state, and they’re likely to get more frequent and intense, with less daily cooling. The state’s Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan includes protecting workers. Read the full article in the NJEA Review here. Below are additional resources that are not in the Review article. Resources California Department of Public Health, CDPH health guidance for schools on sports and strenuous activities during extreme heat: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/EPO/Pages/Extreme%20Heat%20Pages/extreme-heat-guidance-for-schools.aspx Center for Climate Integrity, Hotter days, higher costs. Crisis in America’s classrooms: https://coolingcrisis.org/ National Education Association, “It’s getting hot in here: Without air conditioning, students and staff suffer”: https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/its-getting-hot-here-without-air-conditioning-students-and-staff-suffer New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Air source heat pumps: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/air-source-heat-pumps New Jersey Education Association (2021), “Tackle harmful heat with ventilation [...]