Nearly a decade after their construction, the B, C, and D-Wings have finally received air conditioning units. Over the summer and during overnight hours last school year, crews worked to redo the rooftop ducts and install new piping to increase airflow into classrooms.
Students and staff appreciate the new units. “It’s so great. When people say to me, ‘How are you?’ instead of complaining, I now am practicing gratitude. My room is cool. I’m doing great,” English teacher Maria Angelone said.
“You can feel the ventilation coming in, but it is too cold and too loud sometimes. But I would rather be cold than really, really hot,” senior Kenzie Evans said.
In previous years, the only areas with air conditioning were the G-wing, I-wing, F-wing, and K-wing. These wings were all added in the past 10 or so years, while the A-E wings, which didn’t have air conditioning, were built in the 1950s. For decades, teachers and students dealt with the brutal late-summer heat. “It got up to 98 degrees in my room one day. One day I got so hot, I got sick,” Angelone said.
Before the new air conditioning was installed, many teachers struggled to conduct instruction in hot and poorly ventilated classrooms. “I’d wake up and check the weather—I would screenshot it, because it would be anxiety-inducing for me. I’d send it to [English teacher Lisa] Otsuka, my next door neighbor, and be like, “Look what we’re in for,” Angelone said.
Classrooms that aren’t scheduled for remodeling now have fully functioning air conditioning, marking a significant improvement. Since proposed remodels remain years away, little is known about these potential projects.
M-A’s plant manager, Sergio Gonzalez Quezadas, explained that the school is considering adding another floor to the ends of the B, D, and E-wings, which is why those classrooms don’t have AC yet. “If they’re gonna remodel the whole thing, it’s going to be a lot longer but I think it’s still at least a couple years up. I think they still have to get an architect and figure out exactly what they’re gonna do with that,” Gonzalez Quezadas said.
According to Social Studies teacher Amira Sani, the school is planning to demolish some parts of the school connected to Pride Hall and construct a new building there.
“They’re going to tear all these buildings down, and they’re going to rebuild a new building. So that’s why the other half of Pride Hall has AC, because they’re going to keep those,” Sani said. “This is supposed to be a part of a new revamping of the school.
“It looks really cool. I’ve seen some of the plans, so it is exciting, but it’s going to, obviously, be some time before we see that,” Sani added.
Overall, Bears are enjoying the new air conditioning. However, there are still improvements to be made, and any major renovations are far in the distance.
