13 Sept 2026
Okay, Immma just drop you right in.
Here were are in room 233, where all theatre is taught because the physical theatre is under renovation (Cue LSOH). 233 has no AC. There is a heating vent which I had to have disconnected last winter due to heat induced seizures among my MI/S students.
The AP solution was to move my fourth period to different rooms, looking for one with AC---apparently, it's splotchy and there is no map alerting the building manager to which rooms actually have AC in the first place, let alone noting if it's connected. Not all classes have an AC register, which to me means central air, but I'm not a professional HVAC person, so, whatever. The building was finished in 1965 and I don't want to think about everything that has been "updated" and patched together over the years.
After shuffling room numbers,I decided to stay in 233. With the blinds drawn, the ceiling fans and four other fans, it's not horrible. It's not great, but it's better than schlepping special needs kids to the third floor for their fourth period class, which is usually just down the hall.
The MI/S center teacher across the hall from me has the exact same issue. No AC. However, she cannot move rooms because her room, like mine, is a double wide, and unlike mine she has the big private bathroom, kitchen, sink, fridge and washer/dryer. These are things I dream of for stagecraft, but she needs. She can't move. So she and I have been blanket complaining to all admin since we entered the building in August. She got a massive rolling swamp cooler that stands in the hall because it won't go through the door, that helps as much as my fans.
Last week, we each received rolling AC units with the words RENT ME helpfully stickered on the side. We were not told we were getting them. No email. No Meeting. District maintenence just showed up and plugged them in, regardless of our access to heavy duty extension cords (none). I had to cobble together two power strips, one of which may be a survivor of their first generation. The "reset" button doesn't even light up.
We will return to this topic in a moment. First, I must address Where Did These Come From?
Since Nobody Communicates At All among admin, my neighbor and I just accepted the units and figured out how to manage them. During my walk through eval on Wednesday, the very AP who has been schlepping me from room to room, sat near the AC unit looking surprised.
Friday morning, during my PLT meeting with my department chair who is also my evaluator (they're evaluating two by two now I guess), told me the AP thought I bought the AC unit for the class.
Educator friends, you are smiling and rolling your eyes because YEP, of course she had no idea.
My SLT also had no idea where the AC unit had come from.
Then the choir teacher piped up. She shares a wing with our new transitions program---which is 18-21 SpEd for those not In The Know. She told us that the new teachers in that room also have no AC and also have the same heat induced seizure issues among their students. To which I loudly grunted DUH becuase those kids were my kids last year, and some of them are the reason the heat was disconnected last winter.
Communication would be awesome.
ANYWAY,these new teachers were not having any nonsense, and when they did not get any action from admin or one side of the district, they contacted Special Ed--unsure if it was the district or the state---directly. They demanded AC in All Special Needs classrooms----which includes mine--or legal issues would follow.
Wow.
These people are awesome. I've only met them in passing, but now that I know who they truly are, I will walk down there with Dutch Bros gift cards to thank them.
The mohawk in me respects the mohawk in you. God save the queen.
Now...plugging it in.
District maintenence insisted on the north end of the room with the vent going through the window. I have many glorious, heavy duty extension cords downstairs in the theatre. Which is closed. All I have in 233 are four power strips.
There is no way the AC unit power cord will even remotely reach the outlet on the north wall.They did not arrive with an extention cord, just a rolling AC unit.
So power strips it is.
The first day, they AC flipped off one of the switches. It was definitely a first generation power strip, no light for the "reset" button. So I traded for a more recent strip that might hold on. I wish to point out that the only thing plugged into these strips is the AC unit. I have two outlets on the north wall: power strip daisy chain is plugged into one, my lamp in the other and the other outlet has a power strip with the TV, my computer and microwave.
Friday all the power on the north end of my room blinked out.
When all the power went out, it was clear it was not the strip. The whole north wall was dark.
Also the ceiling fans stopped. They're plugged into the east wall with a circulating fan, and they all flipped off.
My flourescent lights and other outlets are on the south wall, those fans still worked.
So my first move was to walk across the hall to see if my new AC twinsie colleague had power on her north wall. She did.
My neighbor on the south also had all their power.
OK, good to know. It's only me.
Ask anyone, ANYONE who has ever had to deal with me and either technology or power, and they will tell you I Am The Worst. It's always me.
I emailed the building manager. About thirty minutes later he entered the classroom with a heavy duty power strip and a drill. I repeated what I had emailed--which boiled down to "I'm not an expert but this is not a power cord issue, this is a breaker". He declared "Ya, it's a breaker" and good thing he knows me 'cause I threw up my hands and said "Thank God you are here!" and he exited to flip it. He did not leave the yellow power strip.
Everything popped back on, and he returned, smiled, my kids all applauded and he made his exit.
At the end of the day, when I unplugged the strip from the wall, the plug from the wall was too hot for me to touch.
I am looking forward to Monday's adventure!
Next up: I had to take Thursday off because the HVAC in my house went belly up!
Scene.
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