As temperatures push classrooms to sweltering levels, Denver Public Schools is closing or releasing students early Thursday at more than a dozen campuses still waiting for promised air conditioning upgrades.

Among them is Skinner Middle School, where seventh-grader Aubriella Barrios said the heat is unbearable.

“The air conditioning feels really good after an exhausting day,” she said after climbing into her mom’s car. “It’s just so hot and humid that you don’t even want to be there anymore. In this class, it’s like almost 35 kids in a classroom and they’re so cramped together.”

DPS announced 13 schools will cancel classes, including Skinner, while Johnson Elementary and Bryant Webster ECE-8 will dismiss students early. Buses will run on normal routes at the adjusted times, and both schools will serve lunch before dismissal. After-school programming is also canceled.

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