Hundreds of Hempstead middle school students have apparently been trying to learn in the cold for about a week.

Giselle Amadore, 11, says she and her classmates are suffering in frigid classrooms at Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School. The sixth-grader says the heater has been broken for six days and that students and teachers must bundle up in coats, hats and gloves to stay warm. She says the situation makes learning tough.

"We have to write a lot, and when we're taking notes our hands freeze up, our ears get cold," Amadore says, adding that the conditions are making her ill. "Right now my throat hurts, my head's been hurting a lot."

Amadore's mother and aunt are fuming and are calling the cold classrooms unsafe for children.

This isn't the first time Hempstead parents and students have complained about broken heaters. As News 12 reported in January, Hempstead High, Prospect Elementary and Front Street Elementary were all closed due to plumbing and heating issues.

Amadore and her family say they've asked school administrators to fix the heating problem at the middle school, but say nothing's been done so far.

Students say some teachers have been making note of the number of days they've gone without heat by writing it on the chalkboard.

News 12 did not immediately hear back from the Hempstead School District for comment.