Pennsylvania Education

57 Philadelphia schools go virtual Wednesday due to May heat wave

Dozens of Philly public school buildings lack sufficient air conditioning. The record-breaking heat is forcing students to learn from home.

Sophia Schmidt

May 19, 2026

Students walk east on Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

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Dozens of Philadelphia public schools announced virtual learning Wednesday as an early-season heatwave bakes the region.

Temperatures in Philadelphia soared to 99 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday, breaking a record set in 1962. Wednesday’s high temperature is forecast to hit 95 degrees.

Many schools in Philadelphia lack sufficient air conditioning, and schools frequently close at the start and end of the school year. The School District of Philadelphia has been working to upgrade air conditioning, but 52 buildings still lack sufficient cooling, according to the district.

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Under district policy, schools dismiss early when outside temperatures are forecast to reach 85 degrees by 12 p.m., or shift to remote learning when temperatures are forecast to reach 85 degrees by 9 a.m.

Early childhood centers at affected schools will also go virtual. Officials are also canceling in-person after-school activities at those schools.

Oz Hill, deputy superintendent of operations, said the district will communicate with families when the schools will return to in-person instruction.

“While the School District of Philadelphia acknowledges that in-person learning is the best option for students, the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families remains our top priority,” Hill said in a written statement.

Schools learning virtually Wednesday due to the heat:

AMY Northwest
Bache-Martin
Blaine, James
Building 21
Catharine, Joseph
Comegys, B.
Comly, Watson
Cooke, Jay
Crossan, Kennedy
Disston, Hamilton
Dunbar, Paul
Emlen, Eleanor
Fell, D Newlin
Fitzpatrick
Fox Chase
Franklin, Ben HS
Girard, Stephen
Harding, Warren
Henry, Charles
Hill-Freedman
Hopkinson, Francis
Houston, Henry
Howe, Julia
Jenks, Abram
Jenks, John S
Lamberton
Lingelbach, Anna
Loesche
Ludlow, James
McCloskey, John
McClure, A.
McMichael, M.
Mitchell, Weir
Moore, .J Hampton
Motivation
MYA
Olney Elementary
Overbrook ES
Parkway West
Patterson, John
Powel
Rhawnhurst
Rowen, William
Roxborough HS
Sayre, William
SLA Middle
Sharswood, George
Sheppard, Issac
South Phila. HS
Spring Garden
Spruance, Gilbert
Sullivan, James
Tilden, William
The U School
Vaux
Wagner, Gen. Louis
Washington, Martha

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