Are You Teaching in a Toxic School?

Toxic Schools

Last year CNN aired a documentary about schools that are actually making children and their teachers sick. Due to the funding cuts and neglect, many schools have unrepaired roof leaks that cause mild and mildew. Schools have not been tested for radon and other schools have never had asbestos mitigation performed. Figures are hard to come by, but studies have estimated that a third or more of U.S. schools have mold, dust and other indoor air problems serious enough to provoke respiratory issues like asthma in students and teachers. According to the CNN report, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the network’s chief medical correspondent, reported that  many of our nation’s public schools have air quality issues that can cause these respiratory ailments. Interestingly enough there are no federal air quality standards for schools. A number of these toxic schools are located in Reading PA, a school district with a high dropout rate. Reading is a city that been deemed as one of America’s poorest.

I had my own personal experience with this issue a number of years ago while working in a middle school in New Jersey.  Recurring health problems, including asthma, caused me to miss a number of days of work; I took matters in to my own hands.  I climbed to the ceiling of my office and removed the air filter and took it to school boards meeting. The board did agree to run an air quality test but were quite unhappy about having to pay for the inspection and subsequent lab report.

Reading, PA is not the only city to have reported issues with mold and asbestos issues. Similar issues have been reported in Chicago, New York and Boston.  Much of the blame has been placed on budget cuts where school officials have deferred needed maintenance and upgrading of a school’s air quality system.

School students are not the only ones who have become victims to this national disgrace. Teachers, too have suffered from a wide variety of ailments. One teacher in Connecticut had to retire on a disability and her efforts to make the public aware of the school’s problems eventually led to a toxic school being torn down a new one built.

It is imperative that teachers be proactive about these issues. Challenge school officials. Keep reports of student absences (and your own).  BE on the lookout for mold development, unusual odors and leaks.

For more information about this topic go to http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/health/school-indoor-air-pollution

c. 2013 J. Margolis