Ylenia Aguilar raised her sons in Arizona, so theyB次元官网网址檙e no strangers to scorching heat.

She remembers B次元官网网址渟eeing soccer kids and my own children pass out and faint from, you know, heat-related illnesses,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t was seeing my sons dehydrated.B次元官网网址�

Schools across the U.S. are carpeted in heat-absorbing asphalt and lack shade. The buildings were often made with materials that radiated heat into indoor spaces. Kids are more vulnerable to heat illness than adults, and extreme temperatures affect learning, performance and concentration. Heat-related school closures are becoming more frequent.

The burden of extreme heat is not felt equally. Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color can be as much as 7 F (3.9 C) hotter than richer and whiter neighborhoods.

Yet there are well-known ways to cool down schools and neighborhoods.

Cool ground surfaces

In 2022, students at a school near Atlanta pointed thermometers onto their basketball court and got a reading of 105 F (about 40.5 C). A roofing manufacturer donated a solar-reflective coating and helped them paint it on. They took another reading. This time it was 95 F (35 C).

Paved surfaces get really hot in the sun. They absorb solar energy and slowly re-radiate it out as heat, increasing air temperatures by as much as 7 F (3.9 C).

Cooling playgrounds and roads by making them more reflective is not new, but interest has been growing along with more understanding of the way the accumulation can affect neighborhoods, known as urban heat islands, said Daniel Metzger, a fellow at Columbia Law School.

The Science, Arts and Entrepreneurship School recently had that same cool surface painted on their parking lot. Both times, the coatings and labor were donated. Without that, the school would have had to raise funds, said Scott Starowicz, the schoolB次元官网网址檚 co-founder and chief financial officer.

Cool roofs and window films

East of Los Angeles, roofs across the Chaffey Joint Union High School District once reached 140 F (60 C). Warm roofs mean upper-floor classrooms could get hot, which would affect a lot of ChaffeyB次元官网网址檚 students, nearly 65% of who are Latino or Hispanic.

Chaffey has spent $11.4 million in bond money and maintenance funds to convert asphalt shingle roofs to white cool roofing since 2017.

These roofs B次元官网网址� as well as window films, paints and other technologies B次元官网网址� reflect part of the incoming solar radiation away from a building, rather than allowing it to transfer inside as heat. These are some of the easiest and least costly actions a district can take.

Experts agree cool roofing lowers indoor temperature and reduces the need for AC.

The district has also invested in steel shade structures, trees and temperature devices to monitor heat stress.

Cooler, greener schoolyards

On hot days, Sharon Gamson Danks remembers seeing her kids and their peers sitting in the shade along the edges of their school building.

More schools are tearing out hot asphalt, turf or rubber mats in favor of grass, gardens, mulch or trees. Experts say trees are one of the best ways to cool things down.

At Parkway Elementary in Sacramento, trees replaced turf this summer thanks to a grant. The project is part of a California schoolyard forests effort to increase tree canopy in public schools, especially in underserved communities.

Paying for the needed changes

For the hottest schools, these solutions are often out of reach.

Federal agencies offer grants, but they often donB次元官网网址檛 cover the full cost, and schools sometimes donB次元官网网址檛 have the staff to apply for and manage grants. Increased maintenance costs are also a concern.

Relying on grant money B次元官网网址渃an completely exacerbate the haves and the have-notsB次元官网网址� when it comes to reducing climate change and adapting to its harms, said UCLA professor V. Kelly Turner.

Many believe schools shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be left on their own. Every individual solution makes a difference, said Greg Kats of the Smart Surfaces Coalition. But combining efforts with a local government or neighborhood means schools can be even more comfortable, he said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just sort of integration, right, of different strategies over a larger geographic area,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e really sort of transforming the school environment.B次元官网网址�

In Phoenix, AguilarB次元官网网址檚 efforts improved Osborn Elementary District, but the work is ongoing. It recently got money to plant more trees and add more shade.

Aguilar understood that it would only get hotter, she said. B次元官网网址淚 knew that we needed to take action.B次元官网网址�

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The Associated PressB次元官网网址� climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APB次元官网网址檚 standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APB次元官网网址檚 environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.

Alexa St. John And Dorany Pineda, The Associated Press