When George LaComb moved two years ago to a new high school in Orlando, Florida, he quickly noticed safety precautions that the football team at his previous, less affluent school never had.
There was a designated recovery room, staffed by a full-time athletic trainer, giant ice baths to cool overheated athletes and indoor facilities to practice if outside got too hot. At his old school in another part of Orlando, the football team relied on one makeshift ice bath and a cafeteria table to rest on when injured.
“There’s a vast difference between schools that have money and schools that don’t,” said LaComb, a senior at Lake Buena Vista High School and Florida state representative on the National Student Council, a membership group for student leaders. “Making sure each school has the resources to keep students safe shouldn’t be dependent on income.”
As climate change pushes temperatures to new highs, schools across the country are contending with threats to student health and safety on athletic fields, playgrounds and ... Read more
