Safety Procedures for Natural Hazards

Although Alameda’s average temperature is around 68 degrees, we have about a dozen days per year where temperatures rise into the 80s, 90s, or occasionally low 100s.  Because most AUSD schools are not air conditioned, this can result in uncomfortable and, in rare circumstances, unsafe circumstances.  AUSD follows the protocols below in determining how best to proceed during excessively hot days.

Monitoring “Heat Risk”

In July 2024, the California Department of Public Health issued new guidelines for schools during periods of extreme heat. Under those guidelines, schools need to monitor the National Weather Service's "Heat Risk Forecast" and then identify the risk of heat-related impacts and necessary modifications according to color codes. ("Heat Risk" takes into account not only the local temperature but other conditions, including how unusual the heat is for the location and time of year, how long the heat will last, and and heat illness data from the Centers for Disease Control.)

The CDC has also developed a simplifed Heat Risk Dashboard.

Considering micro conditions

We are aware that depending on orientation and ventilation, some classrooms heat up faster than others and that teachers and students in those classrooms may get uncomfortable faster than those in other classrooms. We continue to respond to these conditions as best we can given the age of our facilities and limited resources.

Staying alert to the potential for heat disorders

Heat and humidity can result in two health issues: 

• Heat Exhaustion – characterized by symptoms such as heavy sweating, cool or clammy skin, confusion, nausea, vomiting, headache, fainting, slow heartbeat, and weakness/fatigue.
•  Heat Stroke – characterized by symptoms such as decreased sweating, hot skin, confusion, convulsions, loss of consciousness, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath.

Both conditions are serious but heat stroke is a medical emergency.

A few notes:

• Younger children and children and adults with acute and chronic health problems are more prone to heat issues than older children.
• The higher the heat index, the greater the health danger.

AUSD will start communicating with site administrators when the weather forecast is for orange, red, or purple conditions so that principals can begin to monitor conditions and adjust activities, such as: 

Modifying Classroom Conditions

• Reminding staff to set up the fans that have been provided
• Keeping blinds closed to minimize sunlight heating the classroom
• Removing teachers and students from the hottest classrooms on campus and having them work in a cooler classroom, media center, MPR, or shaded outside area  
• Making water available to students who don’t have water bottles

Modifying PE, Recess, and Competitive Sports

• Outdoor activities will be modified when the heat risk is in the orange zone.
• Water will be provided in readily accessible areas.
• Depending on conditions at the site, water breaks will be provided every 15 to 30 minutes.
• All students complaining of the heat will be allowed to rest.
• Observing students with known health problems carefully; restricting their activity if needed.
• Providing proper cool down periods after exercise.
• Athletic practices should be canceled when the temperature and/or heat index reaches 90 degrees.

Communication with families

During periods of hot weather, district and site staff will communicate with families on ways to keep their students cool during the school day and what the district and site response will be. Those communications will come via robocalls, texts, ParentSquare messages, websites, and social media.

Under state law, all schools in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)  must adhere to CIF's Extreme Heat and Air Quality Policy. 

Effective July 1 2024, CIF issued a mandate under that policy that all member schools monitor the "Wet Bulb Globe Temperature" to determine heat risk for athletes. This measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight takes into account temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover and is considered especially effective for measuring conditions in which people are physically active. 

Both high schools now have instruments to measure WGBT that they will monitor so that they can make the necessary adjustments in athletic activities on their fields. Those adjustments vary by region (or "categories"), as shown in the chart below.

Please note that Alameda is in Category 1, which means that practices and games need to be canceled or delayed when WBGT is higher than 86.2 degrees F.

The new guidelines also call for:

• Scheduling practices during cooler times (e.g., early morning or late evening)
• Postponing or cancelling practices and/or games during extreme heat
• Monitoring athlete health and signs of heat exhaustion or stroke and removing any athlete who displays those signs
• Keeping ice baths or cooling wraps on hand to treat heat illnesses
• Providing frequent water breaks for athletes
• Building in five-day acclimatization periods with shorter practices and limited gear each fall
• Having emergency action plans in place to facilitate efficient and effective responses to heat emergencies

• Alameda County Cooling Centers
• National Weather Service (local conditions)
• CDC Extreme Heat Resources
• HeatReady California  
• CIF: Extreme Heat and Air Quality Policy
• CDPH Extreme Heat Guidance for Schools

In response to the growing number of hot days in Alameda, in 2024-25 AUSD launched a Classroom Heat Mitigation Project. The project included developing a rubric to determine which classrooms already had either air conditioning or fans and which rooms most needed cooling help; piloting the use of fans and air conditioners; projecting costs for fans and/or air conditioning in the classrooms that most needed it; and identifying funding for these cooling strategies. 

Ultimately, the team decided that overhead fans would be the most cost-effective solution. This summer, Maintenance, Operations, and Facilities staff installed overhead fans in 54 classrooms; the remaining 25 will be installed next summer (if not before). Staff also installed window tinting to block direct sunlight in eleven classrooms.

The impact of the fans will be measured by both classroom thermostats and a teacher survey to be sent out the first significant heat wave this school year.  That survey will elicit feedback on the comfort level, air circulation, and noise during heat waves in both classrooms with fans or window tinting and classrooms without either treatment.

 

Monitoring

AUSD tracks several sources for determining local air quality, including: 

• AIRNow website (US EPA)
• Bay Area Air Quality Management District
• Weather Underground

When the air is particularly bad, district staff check these sites on the hour so as to be able to communicate accurate information to schools and families. District staff also consult with surrounding districts and the Alameda County Office of Education to determine what steps to take to minimize the risk for students and staff.  

Communication

All staff and families will receive a notification about pending school closures due to high AQI levels on via text, email, and ParentSquare. Closure information will be posted on all school websites and the district will post notifications on social media.

Using state guidance developed by a working group of leaders from education, air quality, and public health agencies, AUSD has developed protocols for responding to air quality issues in our region. Those protocols are below.

AUSD also provides HEPA air purifiers to all classrooms, which should be turned on during smoky conditions.

Although it is unlikely that Alameda will be hit by a major tsunami, AUSD has developed plans to respond to these natural disasters.  

The most important feature of that plan is that we will be under the authority of local and regional emergency agencies, and, most directly, taking direction from the Alameda Fire Department. 

Emergency authorities will analyze the timing and location of waves and/or flooding. Based on that analysis they may direct AUSD to:  

• Move students from first floor classrooms to second and third floor classrooms 

• Move students from schools that are projected to be flooded to schools that are not projected to be flooded  

• Release students to their parents/guardians or emergency contacts 

Whatever the direction and decision, AUSD is committed to: 

• Acting quickly to support sites in implementing the response 
• Communicating clearly and frequently with families so they understand what is happening and where they can pick up their students 

• California Department of Conservation: "Alameda County Tsunami Hazard Areas"
• City of Alameda: "Tsunami Awareness"