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Classroom heat leaves Clayton student with severe headaches
A Jonesboro mother pulled her 4th-grade son from Callaway Elementary School twice last week after extreme classroom temperatures triggered severe headaches.
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - A Jonesboro mother pulled her son out of Callaway Elementary School twice this week after high temperatures in his non-centrally air-conditioned classroom made him ill, according to the student's parent.
What we know:
Jocelyn Stargell-Zachery said her son's classroom at Callaway Elementary School in Jonesboro lacks central air conditioning.
She picked up her son twice this week because the room became unbearable.
The mother said the portable air conditioner in the room is not enough to cool the space.
Her son suffers from bad headaches after sitting in the heat all day, prompting her to buy him a personal fan and a neck fan.
Clayton County Public Schools reported that all HVAC concerns go to the facilities and maintenance team for assessment.
The district said portable units were placed in impacted areas to maintain comfortable conditions while necessary HVAC work is addressed.
What we don't know:
The school district has not provided a timeline for when permanent air conditioning improvements will be completed in the classrooms.
It is unclear how many other classrooms or students are affected by the cooling issues at the school.
What they're saying:
Stargell-Zachery expressed worry that her son will miss more instructional time during upcoming hot weather.
"It's really a heavy concern about him missing the instructional time because I want him to thrive in school and if you aren't in school you can't do the work, right? So I want him to be in school. It's been tough since it's the beginning of the school year, and it's unfortunate he has had to miss these days because there isn't sufficient air in the building," Stargell-Zachery said.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Callaway Elementary School parent Jocelyn Stargell-Zachery, who explained how the heat affected her son, as well as a spokesperson for Clayton County Public Schools.