STUDENTS STAY COOL THIS TERM TWO BURBANK HIGH SCHOOLS NOW FULLY AIR-CONDITIONED.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

BURBANK - There's something in the air at Burbank and Burroughs high schools this year.

It's cool. It's crisp. And it just plain feels good.

It might not sound like a big deal, but some students and teachers who remember what the schools were like at the end of summer last year say a blast of cool air conditioning goes a long way.

``Coming into class after lunch, it feels like ... ahhh,'' said 17-year-old senior Jill Hensiek at Burbank High. ``Really, it's just so appreciated, not something that's just there or that we take for granted.''

This is the first year most new classrooms at Burroughs and Burbank high schools have offered sweeping cool air. Installation of central air conditioning and heat were among the top priorities in the construction work at the two schools in the past few years.

Of the 18 schools in the Burbank Unified School District, all but three - Providencia and Stevenson elementary schools and John Muir Middle School - now have air conditioning, said Ali Kiafar, chief facilities superintendent for the district.

``Except for those few schools remaining, none of the schools had air conditioning as of five years ago,'' Kiafar said. ``It's our top priority now as part of this next modernization phase.''

The $165 million modernization phase includes perking up old air- conditioning units districtwide, or else installing new systems altogether such as at John Muir. Installation of air-conditioning units at John Muir and the two remaining elementary schools will begin sometime this year, Kiafar said.

Administrators say air-conditioned classrooms boost students' energy and learning levels. According to published reports and studies conducted on the correlation between air conditioning and achievement, classroom temperatures of 80 degrees or higher can affect a child's physiology and concentration.

During past summer-school sessions held at John Muir, for example, teachers saw a 30 percent decrease in student attendance because classrooms were not air-conditioned, said Assistant Principal Daniel Hacking.

``As far as performance is concerned, it dramatically declines in the afternoon,'' Hacking said of the students. ``Unfortunately, because this September we'll see an Indian summer, air conditioning is pretty crucial for us. The teachers have been great, though. They all have fans.''

Administrators in air-conditioned schools agree that students perform better when a classroom is cool.

``It has created a whole new environment,'' said John Burroughs Principal Emilio Urioste. ``It's subtle, but the teachers have been saying that the kids seem more focused. It feels like a college setting. For us, it's like a breath of modernized air.''

Burbank High School history teacher Dave Thomson said he has seen the difference among his students in the first nine days of the new school year.

``It's a funny thing in that I taught in the same classroom for 17 years without air conditioning and never knew what I was missing, until now,'' he said.

Sixteen-year-old Samantha Maislin said she too feels a bit more energetic.

``It's so much better now,'' she said. ``It's easier to concentrate on your work, instead of focusing on how to forget about how hot it is.''

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Photo:

At Burbank High, senior Jill Hensiek checks a thermostat for the school's new air-conditioning system Thursday.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer