Caught in the middle of a withering heat wave, scores of San Fernando Valley elementary schools and some junior and senior high schools sent their students home early Wednesday, as some campuses also prepared to start classes earlier in the morning next week to beat the heat.
Of the 88 Valley elementary schools that are only partially air-conditioned or have no air conditioning, nearly 70 ended the day early by as much as an hour and will do so through the rest of the week, Los Angeles Unified School District officials said. Forty-three elementary schools are scheduled to shift to an "early day" schedule by next Tuesday, with the start of school bumped up by as much as half an hour.
