Healthy Schools Day April 7, 2015.  

Parents can't take it for granted that schools are the healthy places and safe havens we expect them to be. Too many schools, old and new, create or ignore poor ventilation, bad sanitation, and many health and safety code violations. For example, the US EPA estimates that nearly 33,000 middle and high schools have outdated or improperly stored explosives and other hazardous chemicals in maintenance closets, labs and classrooms. It takes enormous courage, persistence and creativity to overcome the status quo of indifference or limited resources.

Healthy Schools Day reminds us to support the leaders and join the partnerships working to protect children from unhealthy and hazardous school conditions. 

Read about Healthy Kids Heroes at Heroes 2004 - 2015 (http://tinyurl.com/TX1937Hero).

Healthy Kids Hero 2015

 

Do you know where your chemicals are?

Countdown to National Healthy Schools Day April 30

Resources for Schools

Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, Washington

Art Chemical Hazards
School Chemical List
Hazardous Chemicals in Schools
Proper Disposal of School Chemicals 

Rehab the Lab

 

Bring the Lessons of the 1937 Texas School Explosion to Your School.

2013 Healthy School Heroes

Heroes Linda Stroud and Janet Hurley

 Inspiring Nominees  Aimee Code and John Gann

Who Is Your 2013 Healthy Schools Hero?
Please post. Please forward

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ellie Goldberg, M.Ed., healthykids@rcn.com 

Attn:  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 name, email/phone #,
and your hero's story by February 10, 2013
to Ellie Goldberg at healthykids@rcn.com

 

Lessons Learned. Lives Saved.  

The 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 and partnerships to protect children from the chemical hazards and unhealthy conditions in today's schools. (HEROES 2012 - 2004)

March 18, 2013 is the 76th anniversary of the 1937 Texas School Explosion.  The 1937 Texas School Explosion was the worst school disaster in American history. It was a gas explosion that killed more than 300 people, mostly students, just minutes before the end of the day in their new state-of-the-art public school. No expense had been spared except when it came to safety.

The story of the 1937 Texas School Explosion needs to be part of our national legacy because the decision-making that led to the 1937 explosion is the same type of decision-making in too many schools today.  The story can inspire us to break the silence about school hazards and to prioritize the values and technical skills we need to live safely with 21st century chemicals and technology.

Send your 2013 hero's name, contact information, and your hero's story by February 10, 2013 to Ellie Goldberg at healthykids@rcn.com

Lessons of the 1937 TX School Explosion
• "Set aside a special day each year as a memorial..."
• Leadership Needed
• Bring the Lessons to Your School
• New London School Explosion

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Photo (E. Goldberg,2005): Cenotaph Commemorates Memory of Those Who Died in School Blast March 18, 1937  http://www.newlondonschool.org/Cenotaph.htm

Effective Policies to Eliminate Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools 
 Healthy School News Fall 2011 Issue (PDF) (8 pp. 1.4MB)
 
To promote a national framework for the prevention of chemical incidents in schools, the ATSDR National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (NTSIP) has teamed up with Interstate Chemical Threats Workgroup (ICTW) to bring you this exciting fall webinar series. 

During the sessions we’ll explore policies and prevention efforts for three chemicals/chemical categories that lead the NTSIP incident list: elemental mercury, cleaning products, and pesticides. 

At the conclusion of the webinar series, the summary notes will guide the development of a white paper entitled, Best Practices and Policies for Eliminating Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools. 

This paper will be distributed nationally and will serve as a basis of ATSDR’s outreach to those who can effect change. If you are not an ICTW member, but would like to attend please contact Lori Copan at lori.copan@cdph.ca.gov.

Save the dates:   All sessions will begin at 12:30pm EST/9:30am PST and run for 75 minutes.

October 13th  Mercury exposures and effective policies

November 10th  Green cleaning policies to eliminate exposures

December 15th  Pesticide exposures and effective policies

January 12th  Discussion on white paper development: “Best Practices and Policies for Eliminating Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools”.