ST. CROIX — Teachers who called in sick to work today at St. Croix Educational Complex High School resulting in the cancellation of school are expected to return to their classrooms Thursday, according to a building representative for the teacher’s union.
The resumption of student instruction at the school is anticipated after the Virgin Islands Department of Education implemented a half-day schedule for public high schools on St. Croix to address extreme classroom temperatures that get hotter in the afternoon.
Although Complex students were sent home shortly after arriving on campus due to what the Department of Education described as a “coordinated sick-out,” the union building representative said the teachers truly were feeling ill because of the hot and moldy working conditions in their classrooms that are not equipped with air conditioning.
“The teachers are not on strike; we’re not protesting,” Marisska Nurse, a Complex science teacher who serves as a building representative for the St. Croix Federation of Teachers, said. “We are sick.”
The teachers outlined the issues in the school they maintain are making them sick in a letter shared with WTJX that calls for urgent action. The letter described extreme heat in classrooms soaring above 90 degrees and in some instances 100 degrees. The teachers noted the heat is so intense it is triggering allergic reactions and swelling in some individuals, while students are battling headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Breathing has become difficult in the hot classrooms, making it hard for both teachers and students to function throughout the day, according to the teachers.
The letter referenced a recent incident when an improperly-installed metal ceiling fan fell and injured a student. Nurse said all the ceiling fans were subsequently removed. She said each classroom was provided one standing fan as a replacement, noting a single fan is not sufficient to cool the rooms.
“Our students can’t focus,” Nurse said. “We’re teaching; their heads are on the desk. We cannot hold their attention for a long set of time. They say, ‘we’re hot, we can’t breathe.’”
The teachers also stated in the letter that some classrooms have started to develop mold because of the lack of proper ventilation and cooling, noting that mold exposure can cause severe respiratory issues. The teachers call on the administration to leave their offices and experience the reality of what students and teachers are enduring daily.
“This isn’t just a matter of convenience or comfort,” according to the letter. “This is about basic human rights — the right to a safe learning and working environment. St. Croix’s students and teachers deserve to be heard, and immediate action must be taken to address these deplorable conditions.”
Nurse said numerous teachers unfortunately called in sick today, and the school could not handle the burden. She said teachers have been calling in sick for weeks, but administrators have failed to address the issues the teachers are facing in their classrooms. Up until Tuesday, Nurse said she was receiving pictures from teachers showing their swollen feet.
“This is really sick teachers, and some of us have been coming to school and just enduring because we don’t want to lose time with our students, and this is the dedication that you have with us,” she said.
After so many teachers reported that they would not be able to teach their students today, the VI Department of Education issued a news release at 8:28 a.m. announcing the school’s closure due to a “coordinated teacher sick-out” and subsequent lack of instructional personnel. The statement noted senior VIDE officials from the St. Croix District were actively working to engage in meaningful dialogue with teachers, and were developing a contingency plan to ensure classes could resume Thursday. Parents and guardians were asked to promptly pick up their children. Transportation was provided for students who ride the school bus.
The Department of Education issued a follow-up news release in the afternoon announcing that recent “job actions,” including a mass “sick-out” by teachers have highlighted the unbearable heat conditions in some classrooms. VIDE indicated the newly-created Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance is overseeing maintenance concerns and started implementing solutions such as electrical assessments and upgrades prior to any “job action or protest,” noting ongoing work in both districts have included the installation of air conditioning units, additional fans, and other necessary repairs.
While the department referenced unbearable heat conditions in some classrooms, the teachers and students are not the only ones feeling it. Food service workers at Joseph A. Gomez Elementary School and Lockhart K-8 School on St. Thomas protested broken air conditioning units in their school’s kitchens last week.
READ MORE: “Heat at Gomez Elementary causes kitchen workers to faint, says union leader; prompts protest today”
The Department of Education stated in its news release that it remains committed to minimizing disruptions to student learning and instruction while continuing to tackle the infrastructural issues. The department noted that ensuring consistent classroom attendance is critical to reducing learning loss, which can severely impact student success.
Nurse agreed that returning to the classroom would be in the best interest of students. She said she anticipates the teachers who called in sick today will return to their classrooms Thursday now that VIDE has modified the schedule.
“We don’t want to miss class because we know that missing school is detrimental to our students,” she said.
The Department of Education announced a modified schedule in response to the ongoing heatwave and concerns about extreme classroom temperatures for Complex and the Career and Technical Education Center that is on the same campus, as well as for St. Croix Central High School.
School will start at the regular time at 7:40 a.m., but dismissal will come an hour and 35 minutes earlier at 1:05 p.m. instead of the typical 2:40 p.m. Students will attend four periods before breaking for lunch at 12:20 p.m.
Nurse, who said teachers don’t normally leave school until 3 p.m., noted the half-day schedule will not resolve the heat concerns, but it will provide some relief.
“It will be less of a time for us to endure the heat, and really during the earlier part of the day, the heat is not as extreme as after lunch,” she said.
