Portland area schools work to address climate impacts

Beat Check with The Oregonian

School is back in session, but September has been warmer than usual. Thousands of students in the Portland area were let out of school early or had classes canceled earlier this month as temperatures reached triple digits and dirty air from wildfires in the region triggered air quality alerts.

With extreme weather events on the rise both during summers and winters, schools are being forced to adjust to the impacts of a warming climate, including by upgrading their buildings, swapping gas-gurgling buses for electric ones and writing new climate-focused curriculums, among others.

Julia Silverman, The Oregonian’s education reporter, talked on Beat Check about how schools are hoping to fund new HVAC systems and other climate-related changes, what approaches rural schools are taking and why climate-related learning disruptions can significantly hamper student success.

Read more about schools’ response to climate change on The Oregonian/OregonLive.com:

• Portland-area schools hope city will fund more AC and climate upgrades, via clean energy tax proceeds
• How shabby or shiny are your local schools? In Oregon, it depends where you live
• 6 down, 3 to go as another renovated high school opens in Portland
• With extreme heat in the forecast, Portland-area school districts weigh their options
• Students, legislators push for school districts to tackle climate change
• A Portland high school student has Oregon governor’s ear on environmental justice
• Young Somali American brings green Islam movement to Portland
• Students nationwide have rebounded after pandemic. But not in Oregon. Consequences could be severe

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