Highlights
- Phoenix-area school districts have rearranged student schedules this week to limit outdoor exposure during triple-digit heat.
- Deer Valley Unified uses a heat-and-humidity chart to decide whether recess is cancelled, shortened, or restricted to limited activity.
- Las Brisas Principal Alisha Kellum checks the National Weather Service throughout the day and makes final recess calls just before students go out.
- First Alert Weather Days are forecast through the weekend, keeping heat protocols in effect across the Valley.
Triple-digit temperatures have pushed Phoenix-area school districts to rearrange student schedules this week, with recess cancellations and shortened outdoor windows the most visible result for families tracking the heat's effect on the school day.
At Las Brisas Elementary, a K-6 Deer Valley Unified School District campus in Glendale, Principal Alisha Kellum is making those calls in real time. Deer Valley Unified uses a heat-and-humidity chart to determine whether outdoor recess should be cancelled outright, cut back, or limited to low-activity options. Kellum said she checks the National Weather Service throughout the day and makes a final decision just before recess begins, also monitoring whether playground equipment has grown too hot to use safely.
Fourth-grade teacher Stevie Mendelsohn, who has taught at Las Brisas for five years, said the heat creates a classroom management challenge even after students come inside. Children who have been outside in the heat need time to cool down before they can focus, she said, and moving directly into academic work is difficult for them.
Recess monitor Kelly Myers said she stays on high alert on days when students are allowed outside, watching for signs of heat distress and directing any student who appears faint or light-headed to sit, hydrate, and visit the nurse if needed.
First Alert Weather Days are forecast through the weekend. Most Valley districts have standing heat policies; Deer Valley Unified's chart-based protocol is one example of how campuses are operationalizing those policies day by day.
What triggers a recess cancellation at Deer Valley Unified?
Deer Valley Unified educators consult a heat-and-humidity chart to decide whether outdoor recess should be cancelled, reduced, or limited to low-activity options. Las Brisas Principal Kellum also cross-references the National Weather Service forecast and makes a final call immediately before recess, accounting for conditions that may have shifted since the morning.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- AZ Family (3TV/CBS5) retrieved 19/08/2026 00:25
- dvusd.org retrieved 19/08/2026 00:25
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 19/08/2026 00:25. Every claim traces to a source.
