Showing posts with label iaq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iaq. Show all posts

December 03, 2013

Who Is Your 2014 Healthy Schools Hero?
Please post. Please forward.
Attention:  Science educators, STEM advocates, professionals in public health, school health, environmental health, facilities management, IAQ, IPM, health and safety, lab safety, school security, emergency and risk management, asthma educators, first responders, school administrators, nurses, advocates, parents and students.

Do you know someone whose sense of responsibility, inspirational leadership, and exemplary persistence and courage protects children from school hazards and unhealthy school conditions?

Send your hero's story, name, and email/phone # by February 1, 2014 to healthykids@rcn.com

The annual Healthy Kids Healthy Schools Hero Award was created as an annual opportunity to tell the story of the 1937 Texas School Explosion and to inspire leadership to protect children from the chemical hazards and unhealthy conditions in today's schools.  (HEROES 2004 - 2013)

March 18, 2014 is the 77th anniversary of the 1937 Texas School Explosion -- the worst school disaster in American history. Just minutes before the end of the school day, a gas explosion killed more than 300 people, mostly students. In their new state-of-the-art public school no expense had been spared except when it came to safety.

Lessons Learned. Lives Saved. The disaster resulted in a law that required adding a warning odor to natural gas, thus saving millions of lives all over the world. However, the false economies and short-sighted decisions that led to the 1937 explosion are still common in too many schools today. 

The Unfinished Legacy: Leadership for Excellence Needed.  The story of the 1937 Texas School Explosion needs to be part of our national legacy. Let's make March 18 an annual day to prioritize the values and technical skills we need to live safely with 21st century chemicals and technology.

Send your hero's story, name, and email/phone # by February 1, 2014 to healthykids@rcn.com.

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*Photo (Ellie Goldberg, March 2005) 
The cenotaph, erected in 1939 is the memorial to victims of the 1937 school explosion. The sculptural block of Texas granite depicts twelve life-size figures, representing children coming to school, bringing gifts and handing in homework to two teachers. Around the inside of the base are the individual names of those who died.  The Egyptians defined a cenotaph as a symbolic tomb, honoring the dead but not containing the body. It is a sepulchral monument erected to commemorate a person or persons buried elsewhere.  
   

May 05, 2013

Working Together: Parent IAQ Success Stories

... Parents for Safer Schools demonstrate that parents need not be afraid to voice concerns and that parents can be a motivating force in addressing health and safety issues at school...

February 23, 2013

National Healthy Schools Day 
http://www.nationalhealthyschoolsday.org/
Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 and all week long!

National Healthy Schools Day is coordinated by Healthy Schools Network in cooperation with US EPA and promotes the use of EPA's IAQ Tools for Schools guidance as well as other EPA environmental health guidelines and programs for schools and children’s health.
 
Participate locally, in your city or state, or nationally! Become a new or continuing organizational partner for 2013. Email us for information on how your school or group can be recognized! 

See the free online activity tools and suggestions, such as the all-new Healthy Schools Day State/City Proclamation/Resolution toolkit, or the Take Back Your IAQ Classroom Checklist. Visit our website for more ideas.

Two free informational conference calls for new and returning partners:

Thursday, February 28th at 4:00pm EST.
Tuesday, March 5th at 12pm EST.
http://www.nationalhealthyschoolsday.org/

February 08, 2012

 Pride of Purpose 
from IAQTfSConnector@cadmusgroup.com
“It was astonishing to see how much prouder the IAQ team members became of the work they do each day once they understood the connections between IAQ and health and the role they can play in academic achievement.”  – Stacy Murphy, U.S. EPA Region 6

Dear School Leader,
Stacy Murphy
Stacy Murphy
I’m excited to share the story of a rural school district in Oklahoma that has taken steps to identify its challenges and strive for growth and success using the IAQ Tools for Schools guidance. Ponca City Public Schools’ journey to success is one I believe school districts across the country can emulate.
As a 2011 Design Challenge School District, Ponca City attended the 2011 IAQ Tools for Schools National Symposium in Washington, D.C., ready to soak up as much technical information, guidance and mentorship from other school districts as possible. Working with other Symposium participants, the district began to pinpoint improvements needed to create a comprehensive IAQ management program, and throughout this process, one specific challenge rose to the surface. It became clear to the Ponca City staff that a disconnect existed in the district’s ability to communicate IAQ issues throughout the school community.
Read full article by Stacy Murphy here: LINK

Pictured above: Ponca City
School District representatives working to identify and solve the district’s IAQ challenges.
Pictured above: Ponca City School District representatives working to identify and solve the district’s IAQ challenges.