Jalen Hurts donates $600K to air-condition Northeast High School's auditorium

Jalen Hurts was watching morning TV on an off day three years ago when he saw something he couldn't shake: Philadelphia schools were canceling classes not for snow or hurricanes, but because they had no air conditioning. On Tuesday, he stood on the stage of Northeast High School — sweat running down the faces of more than 1,000 students, teachers, and dignitaries packed into the school's un-cooled auditorium — and announced his foundation was putting up $600,000 to fix it.

I was very blown away by school not being canceled for snow, not for a hurricane or tropical storm, but for lack of AC. Growing up in the South, it's a common thing that I didn't think about when I went to my elementary school, my middle school or my high school. So I just want to pay it forward.— Jalen Hurts, Eagles quarterback

The $600,000 donation from the Jalen Hurts Foundation — the largest the foundation has made to date — will fund an HVAC upgrade targeting the school's auditorium, a hub of Northeast High's community life that had previously been too hot to use reliably in spring and summer months. The system is expected to be complete for the 2027-28 school year, according to CBS News.

This changes everything for us.— Andrew Lukov, Northeast High School principal

The announcement came four weeks into the 2026-27 school year, during which Philadelphia's heat-affected schools had already experienced two disrupted days. Under district policy, the 52 schools — roughly a quarter of the district's 218 buildings — that lack adequate cooling are dismissed early when temperatures are forecast to hit 85 degrees or higher by noon, and shifted to remote learning if that threshold is expected before 9 a.m. Classrooms at Northeast had window units, but the auditorium had none.

Tuesday's gift is Hurts' second major intervention on the issue. In 2024, he donated $200,000 to purchase more than 300 air-conditioning units for 10 Philadelphia-area schools. That earlier round provided immediate relief for thousands of students and teachers but addressed the problem building by building with portable units. This time, the investment is aimed at a permanent infrastructure upgrade — a distinction that matters because many of the district's older buildings lack the electrical systems needed to support whole-school cooling, making the problem harder and more expensive to solve than simply buying units.

The scale of the remaining challenge is significant. When Hurts first saw that news segment, roughly 118 of the district's schools lacked air conditioning, according to School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Wattington, who attended Tuesday's announcement. That number has since dropped to 52 — progress the district has made in part with help from Hurts' earlier donation — but district officials who had promised full air-conditioning across all schools by 2027 appear off track to meet that goal, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. A separate HVAC project at Kensington High went wrong this summer, triggering asbestos issues that forced students and staff to relocate for the rest of the calendar year.

Let's get it to zero. I want to get it to zero.— Jalen Hurts, Eagles quarterback

Hurts, who cited his parents — both educators — as the driving influence behind his commitment to Philadelphia schools, was greeted with a pep rally and a standing ovation. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who cooled herself with a small personal fan during the sweltering auditorium event, addressed Hurts directly.

Jalen, on behalf of the entire city of Philadelphia, we say thank you for your gift. You will have an impact on more than the 3,400 students who attend this school on a daily basis. You've also done something even more important: You've used your time, your treasure, and your celebrity to assist a constituency who will never be able to walk in your shoes.— Cherelle L. Parker, Mayor of Philadelphia

Among the students who spoke was Mekhriyona Ilkhomova, a Northeast senior who described the situation plainly and drew a hands-over-heart gesture from Hurts.

It feels a little surreal that a major space in an important school lacks adequate climate control in the United States.— Mekhriyona Ilkhomova, Northeast High School senior

It reminds us students of what we can become, and what we can give back after becoming.— Mekhriyona Ilkhomova, Northeast High School senior

It's about service and showing up for those around you.— Jalen Hurts, Eagles quarterback

Why it matters — With a quarter of Philadelphia's public schools still lacking adequate cooling and the district's 2027 deadline in doubt, Hurts' escalating personal investment highlights both the gap private philanthropy is filling and the infrastructure challenge that remains.

Reported by yahoo.com, inquirer.com, cbsnews.com, theeagleswire.usatoday.com, thegrio.com