Adam Zuvanich/Houston Public Media
Several classrooms in three Houston ISD schools — Love Elementary, River Oaks Elementary and T.H. Rogers School — experienced heating issues on Thursday as the region emerged from freezing weather and a historic winter storm.
HISD said in a YouTube video posted Thursday that parents were informed that “not all the rooms were heating correctly” and that students were moved to warmer parts of each campus. Maintenance crews also set up portable heaters in the three campuses, the district said.
In an email sent to parents Thursday that was obtained by Houston Public Media, Rogers Principal Suparna Vashisht said, “Contractors are actively working to install temporary heating units in the classrooms.”
This comes after Houston ISD closed its 270-plus schools on Tuesday and Wednesday because of snowy, frigid conditions in the area.
“We want to assure you that all students are safely in the classroom, and instruction is proceeding as normal without any interruptions,” Vashisht wrote in her email.
A concerned parent who asked to remain anonymous and has a student at Rogers School, which has a program for students with special needs, said their child’s classroom was using portable heaters to keep students warm. Temperatures in Houston on Thursday morning were in the 30s and 40s, according to the National Weather Service.
“The heater in his room was a Costco heater that his nurse said was doing the job,” the parent said.
This week’s winter storm blanketed the region with a historic level of snow on Tuesday. HISD resumed classes on Thursday, when morning low temperatures were around freezing.
The Rogers parent said the school’s heating issues aren’t new.
“The hallways are always cold … it’s just a really old school,” the parent said.
HISD is encouraging parents to make sure their students dress appropriately throughout the week.
“Keep an eye on the forecast,” HISD Spokesperson Lana Hill said in the YouTube video. “It’s going to be really cold tomorrow, too, so it’s always a good idea to dress your students in warm clothes for the bus stop and in layers for throughout the day.”