National Healthy Schools Day
April 30, 2007
Nationally
Every child in every school community should have an environmentally safe and healthy school that is clean and in good repair. Schools in poor condition on the outside often have indoor environmental problems that affect children's health and learning.
Each day over 53 million school children and 6 million adults- 20% of the entire U.S. population- enter our nation's 120,000 school buildings to teach and learn. Unfortunately, in too many cases, they enter "unhealthy" school buildings," that undermine learning and health.
This comes at time when 6.3 million school age children are afflicted with asthma. As a result, asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 14 million school days are lost annually as a result of asthma. The increase in asthma is particularly acute in urban areas with large numbers of African-American, Hispanic American, and other minority students.
At a time when this nation is committed to raising academic performance and making sure each child has an opportunity to learn to his or her potential, we must protect and promote the health of our nation's school children. Clear and convincing research shows that improving school indoor environmental quality, siting, and design, and creating energy efficient, neighborhood schools with adequate, safe space for outdoor activities, will all contribute to protecting the health of our children, to improving public education, and to creating healthier communities.
For guideline, examples of events, and registration, visit Healthy Schools Network.
Related Resources:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development- Healthy School Communities
Greening America's Schools
