MILWAUKEE — This week marks the first day of school for many private school students and staff across Wisconsin. However, high temperatures and heat indexes above 100 degrees forced some schools to delay the start of the school year. 

What You Need To Know

  • Monday was supposed to be the first day of classes for students at St. Roman Parish School on Milwaukee’s South Side. However, classes were cancelled Monday and Tuesday due to the heat

  • Like many public and private schools in Milwaukee, St. Roman does not have air conditioning

  • Dealing with hot days is something Seton Catholic Schools will continue to deal with. Retrofitting older school buildings with modern AC comes with a hefty price tag, which is one reason Seton Catholic Schools does not have immediate plans to invest in it

Monday was supposed to be the first day of classes for students at St. Roman Parish School on Milwaukee’s South Side. However, classes were cancelled Monday and Tuesday due to the heat.

Like many public and private schools in Milwaukee, St. Roman does not have air conditioning. 

“Due to the heat, and high heat indexes that they are predicting near 100, combined with the fact that the majority of our buildings are un-air-conditioned, we just made the decision that was in the best interest of students and staff,” Gina Styer said. Styer is the director of communications for Seton Catholic Schools, which operates St. Roman and 13 other Catholic schools in the area.  

Styer said choosing the cancel the first day of classes was not easy. However, the administration felt the hot weather could distract from learning. 

“The first day of school, you are trying to set routines, welcoming new students into the classroom. It is just not the best day to be in an environment where it is too hot. It feels uncomfortable to learn, and it feels uncomfortable to even pay attention to what those routines are, so we will just reset for Wednesday,” Styer said.  

Dealing with hot days is something Seton Catholic Schools will continue to deal with. Retrofitting older school buildings with modern AC comes with a hefty price tag, which is one reason Seton Catholic Schools does not have immediate plans to invest in it. 

“That is a big ask,” Styer said. “If there is a donor that wants to come forward to provide AC to our students and staff, that would be an amazing gift, but it is just not something we consider in our overall budget.”

Styer said that schools build extra days into the calendar to account for weather-related closures, so the delayed start to the year is unlikely to impact the last day of school at the end of the academic year. 

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