RE : Re: mold testing at private schools

[Guest guest]

Being nicey-nicey is not going to matter if there is a problem.

Surely, some custodian along the way has already told the officials about leaks

that need to be repaired. That is his job. To warn the administration of needed

repairs. There is a duty to report on his/her part.

In my case, the 'custy' had told them years before the 'room' would come back to

haunt them. The custy was laughed at. Eventually, he was 'transfered' after I

reported the conditions.

Schools, which are supposed to be safe havens and democratic icons, are NOT!

If you are in a room and see water stains, by all means, record it.

The places where you really need to look are where the paper is kept. The

closets next to the outside wall. The book supply closets in the basement. The

areas behind walls with waterstains. Underneath rugs that have waterstains.

Dust mites, [which are asthma triggers] and mold will have infiltrated packs of

paper which may have been hoarded for years. In my case, in 2001, I was sent up

writing paper for the kids which had invoice labels of 1973! Of course I kept

those labels. To shame them.

Because I was a whistle blower my kids got crap. They got Corn Flakes nearly

every day, when the other kids got Honey Nut Cheerios and Frosted Mini Wheats.

Other classes got field trips. My kids got nothing and were always told they

were badly behaved. The trickle down is incredible.

But teachers are so hard up often for supplies, even pencils and paper in some

school systems, they will use anything, because it is all they have.

Schools are businesses. If your kid is sick, you are a potential troublemaker.

Your 'outing' the school, means potentially it could close, and those teachers

and administrators have no jobs. That is the reality of the situation. They

will find a way to aggravate and harass your child, which is incredible.

I know of a situation where a private school principal had her asthmatic son in

a building that was built over a brook. He had 50 visits to the nurse before

Christmas, which Thank God were on the computer.

She got after the school to test and they did. The wrong rooms. And on

purpose.

Her son was 'flunked' because of the 10 minutes to get his puffer treatment.

The teacher would yell at him for 'lolly-gagging' on the way back from the

nurse. He would miss tests scheduled so when the boy was getting his puffer and

a drink of water to chase the disgusting taste. He was made to take the tests

after school.

So, he was ostracized because of asthma attacks triggered by mold in the school.

In other words, he was forced out.

Eventually, the mother, (the principal) took him to her school - where he had an

uneventful remainder of the year, but the year for her was pure hell and not

only was she a teacher - she was a principal, whose kid was subjected to torture

and aggravation, because of a health condition.

Schools are not democracies. They are in the restaurant business, the

transportation business and the book business.

Make no mistake. Take no prisoners. But, be prepared to get your kid out on a

fail-safe plan B. You need to be prepared to be called a nut and a

troublemaker.

We would not need to fight for protective legislation if the schools were run as

democracies. They are not. And, because the perception is the opposite; makes

the battle all the harder. You are opening Pandora's Box which the school has

guarded and kept locked.

Do not expect access to areas not normally included in a visit to school, unless

you have permission or a court order, and, believe me, they will visit before

you, with paint buckets, to paint over the walls where the leaks were, to give

you the perception that there was a repair done and they have performed their

duty.

Teachers who might have been sympathetic, will be suddenly 'distant.' Someone

will be watching them too. Be careful and good luck. And, be thoroughly

prepared.