Nearly two weeks of Heat Day early dismissals at Coronado High School left students relieved and teachers facing lost instructional time, according to a feature in the school's Islander Times student newspaper published Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Every school day during the week of Aug. 24–28 was declared a Heat Day, and more followed the week of Sept. 7–11. On those days, classes shrank from 87 minutes to 55 minutes, and students were released at 12:30 p.m. Students without a fourth period left at 11:30 a.m.

The schedule changes hit unevenly. English teacher Joshua Chao told the student paper that Heat Days "create a severe disruption to planning, delivery of curriculum, and on top of that, the minutes need to be made up later on in the year which creates further problems down the line."

Not every classroom felt the heat equally. The 500 Math building has air conditioning. Other buildings at Coronado High do not. Math teacher Nancy McGreevy, who teaches in the air-conditioned building, told the Islander Times her days were largely unchanged.

For students, the tradeoff was simpler. Junior Griffin Hart said the early releases gave time to hit the beach and avoid the worst temperatures. Freshman Aubrey Kelleher told the paper she liked leaving early but ended up with more unfinished classwork at home.

The Heat Day policy is triggered when the heat index reaches 87 degrees or higher, or when high temperatures are forecast for more than one day. The Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) board updated the guidelines on a 5-0 vote on Feb. 20, 2025, according to board minutes. CUSD had reported zero Heat Day minimum days since 2022 before this school year's streak began, according to the Coronado News.

Superintendent Karl Mueller notified families by email at 5 p.m. the night before each Heat Day rather than declaring the full week at once.

The lost minutes must be made up later in the school year. As we reported Tuesday, Sept. 15, the district estimates air conditioning all its schools would cost roughly $40 million. Mueller told the board at its Sept. 10 meeting that the buildings lack the structural capacity for air conditioning, the Coronado Times reported. An HVAC Exploratory Committee is expected to deliver a recommendation within 12 months.

Hart said he would rather make up time on a cooler day than sit through a full day in extreme heat. The HVAC committee's next steps have not been announced.