Is Your School Healthy - National Catholic Educational Association

Is Your School Healthy?

The Healthy Schools Network (HSN) is a large and growing coalition of national, state, and local groups of concerned parents, public health advocates and specialists, teachers and education support staff, and environmentalists. HSN is deeply concerned about the environmental conditions and practices in America's schools. The Network is guided by a board of directors and national advisors comprised of experts from every field that can help schools looking to make the environment better for children and adults. HSN has a single crucial mission: to assure every child and school employee an environmentally healthy school that is clean and in good repair. The network offers research, education, advocacy, and coalition building.

Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic disease. It is also documented that healthy children learn better. The Healthy Schools Network believes that all children and school personnel should be able to breathe clean air. School occupants should be safe from pesticides and other toxic hazards. Hazards such as lead or asbestos, for example, come with old infrastructure, but they can be controlled. Schools need not be located on contaminated ground, not should hazardous facilities be built next to schools.

Catholic school board members can look to the Healthy Schools Network for technical and practical advice on all areas of school environmental concerns. From best cleaning practices to indoor air quality and integrated pest management, the HSN has developed a wide range of nationally recognized and distributed guides, reports, surveys, information packets, and factsheets that can help boards improve school environments. Topics range from "Peanut Allergies" to "Mold" to "Toxic Hazards Near Schools," to name a few. Best of all, board members may be pleasantly surprised to see how affordable positive change can be. By simply changing from toxic cleaning agents that "we have always used" to less toxic cleaners, the same cleaning result will be accomplished, but chemically sensitive individuals may breathe easier. As those at HSN say, "it's not rocket science," it's just an understanding of basic science and applying it to improve environments.

Poor indoor environmental conditions have a greater effect on children than on adults. Children are particularly vulnerable because: 1) Their bodies are still developing. Immature organ systems cannot excrete or detoxify poisons as adults do. 2) Children proportionally eat, drink, and breathe more per pound than adults. 3) Children are exposed to more environmental threats and are least able to identify them or protect themselves from exposures to environmental hazards.

Signs and symptoms of indoor air pollution include rhinitis, nasal congestion, nosebleed, pharyngitis, cough, wheezing, worsening asthma, shortness of breath, severe lung disease, red or watery eyes, lethargy, fatigue, malaise, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, cognitive impairment, personality change, rashes, fever, muscle aches, and hearing loss.

HSN can offer advice on advocacy and educate about the dangers school governance bodies should look for and address. Of particular interest to board members is the recent Guide to School Renovation and Construction.

For more information about the Healthy Schools Network and their publications, call (518) 462-0632 or visit the Web site at www.healthyschools.org.

In the next IssueGram we will feature an article on school renovation. Many schools initiate renovation projects in the summer that cannot be completed before schools starts. Learn how to protect your students from common construction hazards.

James Murphy, M.S., R.N.
Former Director of Outreach and Communication
Healthy Schools Network, Albany, NY