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Highlights documented exposures such as mold, rodents, insects, asbestos, water damage, lead paint, and unsafe air. Connects local cases (e.g., Detroit, Newark, Philadelphia) to broader national infrastructure decline and unequal impact on children of color and high-poverty communities. Describes review, evaluation, and collaboration efforts to identify risks and implement practical solutions for healthier, safer, dry facilities.",{"@graph":69,"@context":121},[70,84,104],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-matter-of-health-and-safety-improving-teaching-and-learning-conditions-in-schools/591574/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":98,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":99,"interactionStatistic":100},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-matter-of-health-and-safety-improving-teaching-and-learning-conditions-in-schools/591574.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"supergirl","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":101,"interactionType":102,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":103},"ViewAction",{"@type":105,"mainEntity":106},"FAQPage",[107,113,117],{"name":108,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":110},"Why does the article emphasize school health and safety as a priority?","Question",{"text":111,"@type":112},"It argues that building conditions directly affect educational quality and student and staff well-being, and must be addressed to recruit and retain teachers and provide high-quality education.","Answer",{"name":114,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":115},"What kinds of hazards are cited in school facilities?",{"text":116,"@type":112},"The text mentions black mold, rodent and insect infestation, asbestos contamination, water damage, deteriorating walls, lead paint, and air unfit to breathe.",{"name":118,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":119},"What national data does the article use to support its claims?",{"text":120,"@type":112},"It references a 1995 U.S. Government Accountability Office estimate of major repair needs and an American Society of Civil Engineers infrastructure report showing only slight improvement in school facility grades alongside declining spending and large modernization gaps.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":123,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":125,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":127,"site_id":62},591574,1792090927,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":130},{"doc_id":127,"user_id":131,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":132,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":34,"language":138,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":139,"faqs":140,"seo_title":141,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":142,"read_time":143},962088121634,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","A Matter of Health and Safety  \nImproving Teaching and Learning Conditions in Schools  \nThe photos above and on the following pages reveal deficient and hazardous school building conditions in cities across the country. They were taken by students from Critical Exposure, an organization founded in 2004 that teaches students how to advocate for changes in their schools and communities through documentary photography. For more, [go to](go to www.criticalexposure.org)[ www.criticalexposure.org](go to www.criticalexposure.org).  \nBy Jerry Roseman  \nS  \nchool facilities matter. Building conditions may not always be seen as the most important of the myriad issues facing public education, but they are a fundamental concern and must be addressed. We have fortoolong ignored the many  \nnegative effects that deficient building conditions have on educational quality. Until we ensure all students have access to school buildings that are healthy, safe, comfortable, and dry, we can’t hope to adequately protect the well-being of our students and staff, recruit and retain teachers, or provide high-quality education to all.  \nIn recent years, the Detroit Federation of Teachers has protested not only a chronic lack of resources in Detroit’s public schools but also the decrepit state of the district’s school build-  \nJerry Roseman is the director of environmental science and occupational safety and health for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Health & Welfare Fund. He has worked as a public health and environmental science professional for more than 30 years.  \nings.1 Educational staff and others have cited black mold, rodent and insect infestation, asbestos contamination, water damage, disintegrating walls, and lead paint, among other issues, as threats to the safety, achievement, and morale of their children and the larger school community.  \nWhile varying in scope and degree, the condition of Detroit’s public schools sadly mirrors the physical deterioration of public schools nationwide. But children of color and those from highpoverty communities are most affected. From the crumbling and overcrowded school buildings of Newark, New Jersey’s EastWard,2 to Philadelphia, which boasts some of the oldest school buildings in the country,3 America’s postindustrial cities have garnered international attention for the accelerated decline and neglect of their educational infrastructure.  \nSince 1985, I have served as the director of environmental science and occupational safety and health for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) Health & Welfare Fund. The Health & Welfare Fund is a freestanding PFT-affiliated organization that was established in 1974 through the union’s collective bargaining  \n34 AMERICAN EDUCATOR | WINTER 2016–2017  \nagreement to provide supplementary benefits and related support to promote the health, safety, and well-being of all PFT-represented employees in the School District of Philadelphia.  \nIn my role with the Health & Welfare Fund, I review information and data, as provided by the district, about environmental exposures and related building conditions; conduct school-site visits and evaluations to assess mold, asbestos, lead, and a range of other environmental hazards;* and work with school district officials and educational staff to find practical solutions to ensure safe building conditions.  \nWhile I could provide a laundry list of the environmental facility deficiencies I’ve seen throughout my career, this article primarily focuses on what we have found are thebest and most effective ways to improve conditions in our schools.  \nThe Need for Better Facilities  \nBefore I discuss the approaches to ensuring safe building conditions that thePFT and the school district have attempted to work on together, it would be helpful to provide some background on the state of our country’s school buildings.  \nA 1995 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found poor public school conditions across the country and","cbCaihneX6f3WAZP","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihneX6f3WAZP","pdf",1385183,"English","# Improving Teaching and Learning Conditions in Schools\n## The Need for Better Facilities","[{\"question\":\"Why does the article emphasize school health and safety as a priority?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that building conditions directly affect educational quality and student and staff well-being, and must be addressed to recruit and retain teachers and provide high-quality education.\"},{\"question\":\"What kinds of hazards are cited in school facilities?\",\"answer\":\"The text mentions black mold, rodent and insect infestation, asbestos contamination, water damage, deteriorating walls, lead paint, and air unfit to breathe.\"},{\"question\":\"What national data does the article use to support its claims?\",\"answer\":\"It references a 1995 U.S. Government Accountability Office estimate of major repair needs and an American Society of Civil Engineers infrastructure report showing only slight improvement in school facility grades alongside declining spending and large modernization gaps.\"}]","A Matter of Health and Safety - Improving Teaching and Learning Conditions in Schools | PDF",1792072753,18]