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| From the Sentinel Lion Story Bank |
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RESOURCES AND REFERENCES
The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide, Monona Rossol, Arts, Crafts and Teacher Safety
Although written for artists and teachers in the arts, this book is
useful for anyone interested in healthier schools. Rossol provides a
comprehensive introduction to the basic concepts and vocabulary
necessary for understanding the acute and chronic health hazards posed
by a variety of pollutants, including many common school supplies and
art materials. The book includes information on current health
standards and safety regulations, safety checklists, ventilation and
risk reduction guidelines, and practical suggestions for choosing and
using safe materials.
Building Air Quality: A Guide for Building Owners and Facility
Managers. US EPA, December, 1991.
Comprehensive and thorough
technical manual with useful documentation forms and case examples.
The Healthy School Handbook: Conquering the Sick Building Syndrome
and Other Environmental Hazards In and Around School, National
Education Association, 1995.
PLAY IT SAFE: Introduction to Theatre Safety. VHS/Color. 82
minutes in two acts. Theatre Arts Video Library, 174
Andrew Ave., Leucadia, CA.
This video should be required viewing in every high school, camp,
children's theater and theater arts program! A must-see for parents and
teachers of young performers, especially those with asthma and
allergies! The program includes injury prevention information about
fire, chemical and physical hazards that should be part of every health
education curriculum. It is also an entertaining way to learn about the
health and safety laws that can help make every workplace safer --
including schools.
RX for Sick Schools: An Environmental Action Kit, Ellie Goldberg
US EPA IAQ Tools for Schools
Healthy Schools Network
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A TEAM APPROACH
TO SCHOOL INDOOR AIR QUALITY PROBLEMS Marcia Gallagher, President, Breathless, Inc.,
BREATHLESS
PIPELINE, March/April 1994, Adapted and Reprinted with Permission. V. 3 21 09
by Ellie Goldberg, M.Ed., www.healthy-kids.info
In the spring of 1993, a parent attending a parent group
meeting expressed her concerns about the high rate of illness at
Haverhill's 105-year old Cogswell Elementary School.
Students
and teachers seemed to be having a lot of colds, sneezing, sore
throats, and headaches, and two children had been recently diagnosed
with asthma.
Following the meeting, Joanne Morrow, principal of the Cogswell and
Greenleaf Elementary Schools, notified the Haverhill Board of Health.
On
May 13, James Tremblay did a visual evaluation of the building. He
reported that he saw no defects that might explain the health problems.
Joanne trusted the Board of Health and its report.
In early November, 1993, a group of parents at the Cogswell School
called the office of Breathless, Inc., an asthma advocacy organization,
to discuss their feeling that the "Second Floor Syndrome" was not being
taken seriously.
When Breathless.Inc. founder, Marcia Gallagher first contacted
Principal Morrow, she was concerned that parents had gone to an outside
organization for help. Gallagher emphasized that Breathless was eager
to be a resource to both school officials and parents.
Gallagher also urged Morrow to get a written report of the Board of
Health's inspection results because parents felt that the lack of a
written report was the sign of a "cover-up."
Gallagher
learned that the town building department had also done an inspection
and after finding "no structural defects" they suggested that the
school department call the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Indoor
Air Quality Division to obtain a list of air quality experts.
Gallagher met with Joanne on November 9 and showed her a resource that
she thought would help, "RX for Sick Schools: An Environmental Action
Kit," developed by Ellie Goldberg, founder of www.healthy-kids.info,
an information and educational consulting service. The Kit promotes an
in-house team approach to identifying and addressing air quality
problems.
Information in the Kit is based on the EPA's Building Air Quality: A
Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers. The Kit includes a
"School Walk-Through Checklist" designed to help volunteers evaluate
classrooms and other school areas.
The next evening Gallagher attended the Cogswell Parent/Teacher Council
meeting and participated in a discussion that helped build better
communication and trust between Joanne and the parents. Morrow gave
each parent a copy of the Board of Health's May 13 inspection findings
and explained that, with no prior experience in environmental
trouble-shooting, she hadn't realized the limits of a "visual
inspection" or that more could be done.
Gallagher introduced the RX for Sick Schools Environmental Action Kit and recruited volunteers to do a "School Walk-Through."
The
volunteer inspection team included Cogswell parents Patricia Visconte
and Mary Ellen O'Dowd, Cogswell Site Council Representative Lynn
Latorre, Principal Joanne Morrow, and Marcia Gallagher. They did the
"Walk-Through" on November 19, 1993.
"The Walk-Through served two purposes," said Joanne Morrow. "It was a
fact finding project and it empowered parents. It was a great team
effort. I passed the Walk-Through checklists on to Elise Morse, at the
Division of Occupational Hygiene, who did an official inspection on
January 19, 1994. (The results of the inspection will be shared with
parents as soon as it is available.)
Gallagher met with Morrow on February 8, 1994 and asked for her
recommendations on handling school environmental concerns in the
future.
Morrow
suggested that parents should first report concerns to their child's
teacher. The teachers should convey the information to the principal.
The principal, as the person responsible for building safety, should
then meet with parents to share resources, ideas and problem-solving
strategies.
Good communication is the key. She advises other principals to build
trust by taking parents' concerns seriously. Both parents and school
principals can use the school parent-teacher organization and
school-based councils to keep groups of parents up-to-date.
Everyone should keep in mind that resolving environmental quality
concerns is a learning experience for everyone. There are many
uncertainties. And, resolving issues takes time so everyone needs to
be patient. During a typical day, a principal like Joanne Morrow faces
an endless list of demands that compete for her time and attention.
Getting help from government agencies such as the local board of
health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of
Labor and Industries, Division of Occupational Hygiene also takes time.
Delays are frustrating for both parents and school officials.
The air quality problem of the Cogswell School is an ongoing concern of
both parents and Principal Morrow. The good news is that confusion,
mistrust and misunderstandings are no longer a problem.
One
example of positive change is how quickly Morrow responded when
Gallagher wrote to her about the crumbling walls, mold, dust and dirt
in a basement room that was being used for testing students for special
education services. The room is no longer being used.
As an asthma advocacy organization, Breathless was able to play a positive role in helping parents and school work together.
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