Earlier this week, viral photos of Baltimore children huddled in unheated classrooms with coats and hats circulated on the internet, prompting outrage as teachers tried to lead class buildings where boilers were broken and pipes had burst. Aaron Maybin, a former NFL player and Baltimore native who is now a teacher in the city, told CNN that a thermometer in his classroom read the temperature at 40 degrees on Wednesday.
"It's really ridiculous the kind of environment we place our children into and expect them to get an education," Maybin wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. "I got two classes in one room, kids are freezing, Lights are off. No computers. We're doing our best but our kids don't deserve this."
On Wednesday, the Baltimore City Public School system closed four schools and released students early at two other schools before finally closing all schools on Thursday.
Samierra Jones, a student at Coppin State University and an alumnus of the Baltimore City Public School System, has started a GoFundMe campaign to purchase heaters and winter clothing for students. See the GoFundMe campaign here.