As Philadelphia braces for a short but intense heatwave, the city's school district has announced early dismissals for dozens of schools lacking adequate air conditioning – disrupting the educational routine for thousands of students and their families on the first day of the school year. 

With temperatures expected to soar into the mid-90s and heat indices potentially reaching 103, district officials opted to release students from 63 schools three hours early on both Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Among those Northwest schools are the John S. Jenks school in Chestnut Hill, the Henry Houston and C. W. Henry schools in Mt. Airy and the Anna L. Lingelbach school in Germantown. 

The decision, which affects about 28% of the district's 218 schools, highlights ongoing infrastructure challenges in what is one of America's oldest public school systems.

The Philadelphia School District has been grappling with aging infrastructure for years. According to district reports, the average school building is nearly 75 years old, with many lacking the electrical capacity to support whole-school air conditioning. 

Despite recent efforts, including the installation of air conditioning units donated by Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in eight schools, the district projects it won't achieve full climate control in all schools until 2027.

Philadelphia's schools are burdened with an estimated $7 billion in unmet facilities needs, a problem that local officials argue requires significant federal and state investment to address.

“The District appreciates family and staff’s patience and flexibility as it navigates extreme heat conditions while working to provide every school with the updated air conditioning system it needs to support comfortable teaching and learning environments,” the district stated in a press release on Monday.