Parents and guardians are the strongest advocates and loudest voices for their children. Every student spends approximately 12,7000 hours in school buildings from kindergarten to grade 12. With the average school nearly 40 years of age, a host air and water quality issues may be present that aggravate asthma, contribute to absenteeism, and lead to longer term health concerns.

We have the tools and expertise to help you bring healthier and safer in-school environments. We also have dedicated funding available to assist with certain issues.

How to Get Started for Key Issues

Lead in Water

What’s at stake?

Municipalities across the country are being impacted by the presence of lead in pipes. Children exposed to lead are at risk of severely impeded cognitive development and lifelong learning challenges.

Get learning tools

Fact sheets and online resources are available.

Talk to the right people

Let us help inform your decision-making.

Build your team

Joining forces with like-minded staff, teachers, and administrators can act as a force multiplier and help effectuate change.

Get Technical and Financial Support

We are providing free water testing kits and can provide partial funding for any remediation.

Radon

What’s at stake?

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. The EPA estimates that nearly 70,000 classrooms in the United States have dangerous short-term levels of radon gas. It can only be detected through testing.

Get learning tools

Fact sheets and online resources are available.

Talk to the right people

Let us help inform your decision-making.

Build your team

Joining forces with like-minded staff, teachers, and administrators can act as a force multiplier and help effectuate change.

Get Technical and Financial Support

We are providing free Radon testing kits and can provide partial funding for any remediation.

Air Quality

What’s at stake?

Asthma
Asthma is the leading cause of absenteeism in U.S. schools. Students with chronic absenteeism due to asthma are twice as likely to be diagnosed with a learning disability.

Mold
Sinus inflammation, nosebleeds, respiratory diseases, and irritation of existing asthma symptoms and allergies can result from mold.

Fragrance-free
Chemicals found in perfumes and personal care products can cause breathing difficulties, neurologic responses (such as dizziness and headaches), skin irritations, and allergic reactions.

Integrated Pest Management
Toxic pesticide exposure can lead to a variety of short and long-term health concerns, including asthma and allergy attacks, neurological impairment, and immune system damage.

Green Cleaning
25 percent of cleaning and maintenance products used in schools are toxic and can lead to poor indoor air quality, cancer, asthma, reproductive disorders and other illnesses and diseases.

School Bus Idling
According to the EPA, diesel fuel exhaust is among the most dangerous forms of emissions. Those routinely exposed to diesel exhaust face higher risks of stroke, cancer, asthma, heart attacks, and other chronic illnesses.

Get learning tools

Fact sheets and online resources are available.

Download the curriculum

Our easy-to-implement lesson plans can quickly be used in the classroom.

Talk to the right people

Let us help inform your decision-making.

Build your team

Joining forces with like-minded staff, teachers, and administrators can act as a force multiplier and help effectuate change.

Find funding

The Highmark Foundation provides funding for school environmental health initiatives.

Artificial Turf

What’s at stake?

Manufactured from recycled tires, crumb rubber artificial turf contains known carcinogens like arsenic, cadmium, and zinc. More than 11,000 artificial turf fields are in use across the United States.

Get learning tools

Fact sheets and online resources are available.

Talk to the right people

Let us help inform your decision-making.

Build your team

Joining forces with like-minded staff, teachers, and administrators can act as a force multiplier and help effectuate change.

Find funding

The Highmark Foundation provides funding for school environmental health initiatives.

Healthy Food and School Gardens

What’s at stake?

School gardens teach students valuable lessons about healthy eating and the sustainability benefits of composting. Healthier food choices in the cafeteria in vending machines aids cognition, attention-span, and builds healthier bodies and minds.

Get learning tools

Find out more with this webinar and from our friends at Grow Pittsburgh and Edible Schoolyard Pittsburgh.

Talk to the right people

Let us help inform your decision-making.

Build your team

Joining forces with like-minded staff, teachers, and administrators can act as a force multiplier and help effectuate change.

Find funding

The Highmark Foundation provides funding for school environmental health initiatives.

Conservation Lessons for Kids

What’s at stake?

It’s never too early to start having conversations with children about protecting and cherishing our environment. Cultivating positive, age-appropriate activities for children to learn about their planet and their role in conservation can reinforce a greater appreciation for our natural world and the many ways we interact with it in our day-to-day lives.

Get the right tools

Whether you start by volunteering to clean up a hiking trail or crafting a fun arts project for creative ways to reuse and recycle materials, there are many ways to get kids excited to learn about the environment!

21 Recycled Crafts, Activities & Home Decor That Teach Our Kids About Recycling

Creating a Butterfly Garden

Kids’ Gardening: Cultivating Food and Life Lessons

Guide To Composting At Home

Home Science: Backyard Conservation

Leave No Trace: What Does It Mean For Kids?

Water Conservation for Kids

Check out our resource library for more tips and ideas! And a big thank you to our colleagues at Our Precious Resources for sharing these resources above.

Be a champion in your community!

Whether your child attends day care or is in high-school, parents can play a huge role in advocating for environmental and outdoor education that gives students a chance to explore the science of our natural world, the ways human action interacts with natural processes, and the skills we need to protect our planet and be responsible environmental stewards.

Does your school or childcare center have a parent group that meets regularly? Consider adopting a child-care center-wide, or school-wide environmental project that builds upon some of the lessons being learned in class.  Could your PTO assist the school in doing a water or energy audit, fundraise to sponsor an environmentally-focused school assembly, or put together a zero-waste parent event?

Feel free to reach out to our Healthy Schools Coordinator for some ideas, additional resources, or support!

Want to Start With a Different Issue?

There is no shortage of opportunities and challenges facing our schools and school districts. Visit our Resources Page to learn more.

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Success Stories

Scores of schools and school districts across our region are taking positive steps to help their students thrive in healthier environments. From testing for radon to cleaning green, discover how teachers, staff, and parents are working together to bring about positive change.

Learn More

One Simple Step

That You Can Take TODAY To Make Schools Healthy

Eliminate Fragrances in the Classroom
Fragrance is an asthma trigger! On average, in a classroom of 30 children, about three (or one in 10) are likely to have asthma, so any use of fragrance can be detrimental to their health.