Buckets of rain pound Miami streets between June and October, a seasonal warning that hurricane season has arrived. For Ransom Everglades students, this means one thing: showing up to class soaking wet. Over the past few weeks, the daily downpours have become almost routine.
According to the US Climate Data, the average annual precipitation in Miami is 67.41 inches – 5 feet and 6 inches. September, the city’s rainiest month, always hits right as school begins. Between new schedules and flooded sidewalks, the season of change feels literal.
For students like William Brown ’28, these daily downpours are more than just an inconvenience; they are an obstacle in the school day.
“So, about a week ago, I was in Starbucks like I normally am every morning,” Brown said. “It starts pouring rain, so I must sprint to campus. So, I get on campus, and I get into STEM. I’m like, oh, thank God, the rain’s gone, I’m all dry. Then, it starts pouring rain again, and I have to walk all the way to the other side of school to get to my class. And I’m soaked. My pants are soaked, my clothes are soaked, no extra clothes, and I’m running around school, and I’m all soaked. And it was the most uncomfortable day of my life.”
Brown’s story is not unique. On any stormy given day, students can be seen running to class and through buildings, rushing to rescue backpacks that have been left out in the quad.
Technically, there is one path on the Upper School campus that allows students to go from class to class without having to walk through the rain. You can walk from Old Math/Science to Ludington, the Ansin Breezeway, Cameron Hall, the Library, and the Dining Hall. But from there, you might have to make a run for it to the Fernandez STEM Center, Visual Arts, or Lewis Auditorium.
Miami’s rain is unpredictable, and with little campus coverage, students are often caught off guard, rerouting their walks or waiting out storms just to stay dry.
On September 10, for over an hour, students were kept in their classrooms under a Shelter-in-Place order due to lightning in close proximity to the school. That event, and this year’s heavy rainy season, have left students and teachers asking a simple question. Why are there so few covered walkways?
“RE could be putting canopies up between STEM and the Breezeway. Same thing with the Visual Arts building,” said World Languages teacher Dr. Beatriz Marqués.
Stefano Kruger ’28 said RE should consider adjusting its policies in light of the fact that rain will always be a problem. “When there’s rain, there should be more of a leisure for class tardiness, because people have to go through the rain,” he said.
Rain is not a new idea nor a new concept, but at RE, at this time of year, it is a persistent problem. For Dr. Marqués, the impact on learning is her chief concern: when her students get wet from the rain, they seem to get distracted. “Well, students don’t concentrate on what we’re teaching if they’re wet, cold, and just thinking about their hair or this or that,” she said.
