BLOG
Out with the Old? How Aging Infrastructure Creates Toxic School Facilities
Built at the heart of our communities, public schools are home to history and memories for generation after generation. Walk down a hallway and you’ll see that heritage on display, whether it’s yearbook photos, sports championship plaques, or tributes to notable...
Learning the ABCs: What are Adequate Building Conditions, and Why Do They Matter? A Plan B Approach
As advocates for healthy schools, we believe that every student deserves a safe and conducive learning environment. But it’s not always easy to identify exactly why or how a given school—or school system—is failing to make the grade when it comes to its facilities....
PA Governor’s Budget Address: Shapiro Speaks Out Against Toxic Schools—and Speaks Up for Students
On Tuesday, February 6, Governor Josh Shapiro gave his annual budget address—and in it, he told a surprising story. “A couple months ago, I had a meeting with [State] Representative Fiedler in my office,” the Governor recalled. “I was a little surprised when she...
Introduction: The State of Schools
As an environmental science consultant and advisor for direct and near-direct stakeholders (educational sector unions, parents and environmental and school health, safety and condition advocacy organizations) for many years, including my long-standing relationship...
Our Schools, Our Challenge: Understanding the Urgency of School Facility Improvements
As the Director of Environmental Science for a major teachers' union, I'm here to help put the situation of deteriorating school infrastructure into context, and to discuss the cascading--and consequential--impacts of inadequate school building facility conditions on...
