As the heat wave continues, the Springfield Public School District is working to make sure students stay safe.
SPS Athletics and Activities Director Joshua Scott said the heat is a struggle every year around this time. The latest stretch of highs in the upper 90s has been a bit unusual.
The Missouri State High School Activities Association mandates that schools take wet bulb measurements with a special thermometer to ensure it’s safe for athletes and musicians to be outside. The wet bulb temperature “is a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, which takes into account: temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover (solar radiation). This differs from the heat index, which takes into consideration temperature and humidity and is calculated for shady areas,” according to the National Weather Service. Depending on the reading, there are certain protocols schools must follow. But Scott said they’ve made schedule changes even without taking those readings into consideration…