Got 6 Minutes? Watching This Video Could Save a Life
A severe allergic reaction, or what’s called anaphylaxis, can be really serious and even life-threatening.
It can happen at anytime and anywhere – in the classroom, cafeteria, playground, on the bus or during a field trip. So it’s critical that ALL school employees, including teachers and education support professionals, need to know about allergic reactions, how to identify them, how to respond in an emergency, and how they can help prevent them in the first place.
That’s why NEA HIN and Sanofi US teamed up to create a video for educators and education support professionals on managing severe allergies in school. Watch the video below, and then head over to our allergy page for more information and resources on severe allergies and anaphylaxis.
Knowing how to spot, manage and respond to a severe allergy can truly save a life!
Are You Asthma Aware?
One in 12 Americans are estimated to have asthma – that’s 25 million people in the U.S. And these troubling asthma rates are even higher for Black, Latino and impoverished children. For kids and teens ages 5 to 17, asthma is the leading cause of school absences from a chronic illness. It accounts for an annual loss of more than 14 million school days per year – and it makes it awfully hard for students to stay on top of their learning.
When it comes to managing asthma, four key elements are essential to keeping an asthma attack at bay:
- Creating and following a personal asthma action plan
- Taking medicine properly
- Avoiding or minimizing exposure to asthma triggers
- Recognizing the early symptoms of asthma and taking the appropriate action
Resources for School Staff
- Enroll in NEA Academy’s online course, “Managing Asthma in a School Enviornment.” This online course was developed by NEA HIN and the Merck Childhood Asthma Network (MCAN) and covers the symptoms of an asthma attack and ways to make your school more asthma-friendly. A total of 2.5 certificate hours can be earned by taking the course and up to 65 additional certificate hours can be earned by completing one or more of the extra-credit projects offered.
- Did you know poor indoor environmental quality can trigger asthma symptoms? Our online course on indoor environmental air quality will help you identify, prevent, and resolve issues like mold, moisture, chemical exposure and more.
- Find out how asthma-friendly your school is! Use this checklist to assess how asthma-friendly your school is.
Green Schools are Healthy, Efficient and Inspiring Learning Spaces – Is Yours?
Earth Week is almost upon us (April 22-26), and the green schools movement continues to grow. Here are the latest activities and some great tips that can help improve the health, resource-efficiency and sustainability learning opportunities in your school from Jenny Wiedower, K-12 Manager, Center for Green Schools, US Green Building Council.
This year, the Center for Green Schools drew attention to the condition of our country’s public school facilities in our 2013 State of our Schools report, released in March. We estimate that it will take approximately $271 billion to bring our nation’s 100,000 PK-12 school buildings up to working order and comply with laws.
Together with dozens of organizations, the Center for Green Schools is calling for an updated survey on the condition of America’s schools. This will provide more detailed and accurate information to direct our efforts to restore, repair and revive our schools, which will help direct our limited dollars to where they are needed most.
NEA and NEA HIN – two of our many partners – agree. “Our job—as educators, as parents and as elected officials—is to remove barriers so that all students can succeed,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “This means investing in the right priorities. Children need and deserve safe and healthy environments so they can learn. It’s not more complicated than that.”
Educator and student resources….You can help raise awareness about the impact that the conditions of school facilities have on student performance and health.
- Join a local Green School Committee,
- Work on the ground to improve community schools through our Green Apple Day of Service,
- Give the gift of our Green Classroom Professional Certificate to a teacher, principal, custodian or educational support staff you know, or
- Connect with your local legislator on these important issues.
We think “11 Ways to Green Your School” is a great place to pick up new ideas for how to engage students, staff, school stakeholders and community members in making fun, action-oriented improvements in your school.
For the college bound….The Center for Green Schools is pleased to announce the release of The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2013 Edition. In its fourth year of publication, the guide highlights exceptional institutions of higher learning for their leadership in sustainable operations, sustainability in curriculum and green living on campus. As the only comprehensive and free resource of its kind to the majority of prospective students who say that they are looking for a green college to attend, this is a wonderful resource to share with your high school guidance counselors and high school students alike. More information can be found on The Princeton Review’s website.
And don’t miss….
- The Center for Green Schools on NBC’s TODAY Show on Monday, April 22! TODAY is scheduled to celebrate Earth Day by building six green living walls on Rockefeller Plaza with local students from Bronx public schools. The segment will highlight the Center for Green Schools and our flagship event, the Green Apple Day of Service. Tune in!
- Also, on Monday, April 22, the U.S. Department of Education will announce their 2013 Green Ribbon Schools awardees. USED will be live-streaming the event at 10 am on this website.
- Get free 20-minute-or-less web trainings with all the information you’ll need to make your Green Apple Day of Service activity on September 28, 2013 a success. The first web training will be “Save Water” on Thursday, April 25, tune in, these webcasts will introduce you to project ideas, volunteer recruitment tips, fundraising ideas and more.
- As always, check in with the Center for Green Schools regularly to learn how others are making a difference in their schools and communities and share your story with us!
Health Equity Now
April 5th is the anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As we honor Dr. King’s astonishing legacy and celebrate the civil rights gains that he inspired, the NEA Health Information Network also recognizes that we as a nation have not done enough to ensure that all minority communities have quality access to health and healthcare.
This disparity has received federal attention. In 2001, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established April as National Minority Health Month to recognize the disproportionate rates of access and achieve health equity.
This year, the theme of National Minority Health Month is, Advance Health Equity Now: Uniting Our Communities to Bring Health Care Coverage to All.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has outlined a clear action plan to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities:
- Transform health care;
- Strengthen the nation’s health and human services infrastructure and workforce;
- Advance health, safety and well-being of the American People;
- Advance scientific knowledge and innovation; and
- Increase efficiency, transparency and accountability of HHS programs
Many federal agencies partner in this effort: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSA), to name a few.
In support of such work, NEA HIN implements a number of programs that focus on the health issues that disproportionately affect minority populations. In the area of nutrition, NEA HIN recognizes that the prevalence of obesity disproportionately affects African-American, Hispanic, and Native American children. That’s one reason why NEA HIN has launched the Bag the Junk initiative, to ensure all children have access to healthier food and beverage choices in schools.
NEA HIN also knows that Black and Hispanic households with higher rates of food insecurity, over 25 percent. That’s one reason why NEA HIN launched a Breakfast in the Classroom initiative to increase breakfast consumption among schoolchildren and spark the academic and nutritional gains associated with the morning meal. Since 2010, NEA HIN has worked in 13 high-need school districts to help bring breakfast into the classroom to all children.
Approximately 7 million children (ages 0 to 17) in the U.S. have asthma, with poor and minority children suffering a greater burden of the disease. 16 percent of non-Hispanic black children suffer from asthma in the U.S. compared to 8.2 percent among non-Hispanic white and 7.9 percent among Hispanic children. NEA HIN’s environmental health programs aim to educate NEA members on asthma and help reduce exposure to common asthma triggers in schools. Learn more about asthma and asthma triggers by taking NEA HIN’s online course Managing Asthma in the School Environment: What NEA Members Need to Know. To access the course, go to www.neaacademy.org/leader-to-leader/managing-asthma-in-the-school-environment-what-nea-members-need-to-know.html.
During National Minority Health Month, you can visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website to get more information about health care initiatives, statistics, publications and workshops on minority health. You might be inspired by a way you can take an action to help improve the health of our communities and increase access to quality, affordable health care for everyone.
Public Health and Public Education: A Critical Partnership
In 1920, Charles-Edward Amory Winslow defined public health as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals.”
That’s a mouthful—but the focus is to help people live healthy lives. By focusing groups of people, public health can support critical services that promote the health and well-being of particular populations, including children. Public health programs help address the challenges that students experience.
April 1-7 is National Public Health Week, and to begin the celebration, we highlight a few ways public health helps us to provide a safe environment in schools.
- Asthma is a leading cause of school absences. Public health teaches us to look beyond the needs of one student and focus on asthmagens in the building environment.
- Each year as flu season approaches, public health departments work with school nurses and allied health professionals to provide school-based vaccine programs. These clinics can also be opened up to families and community members to expand prevention.
- With childhood obesity identified as a major health problem public health helps schools look at the policies and the programs that can promote physical activity and healthier food choices.
- Because the first job of schools is to provide education and instruction, public health programs can provide support for standards-based health education that build the skills and knowledge students need to avoid risky behaviors such as substance abuse.
Whatever the health issue, public health departments can be there to help schools do a better job. Learn more about how to partner with health departments. Have you worked with your health department? Tell us about it.
NEA Promotes Kick Butts Day
The 18th Annual Kick Butt’s Day, is upon us and John Rosales’ piece on NEA Today highlights the impact educators and can have on students and how students can affect their peers.
On March 20, educators will join students and health advocates across America in highlighting the dangers of tobacco use and aggressive marketing practices by the tobacco industry. More than 1,000 events across the nation are planned for KBD, organized by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and United Health Foundation. Educators who want to organize KBD events can find an interactive activity guide at www.kickbuttsday.org.
To learn more about asthma and asthma triggers visit our asthma page or explore our online course on asthma in the school environment.
School Lessons On Hurricane Sandy’s Aftermath
Still fresh in our minds is the devastation that Superstorm Sandy caused a little over a month ago all along the east coast. In addition to damaging, devastating, or destroying homes and communities, Sandy wreaked havoc on countless numbers of schools in 24 states. Some schools closed so they could serve as emergency shelters, some schools closed because of power outages, and some closed because of massive flooding or other destruction.
Damage from Sandy, most specifically the water damage that it caused in homes and schools, can cause widespread health problems for children. Children are more susceptible to environmental contaminants because they eat, drink, and breathe more than adults and many of their vital organs are still in the development phase. Standing water and wet drywall, carpet, insulation or other building materials can serve as a breeding ground for mold, viruses, and bacteria which can cause disease and trigger allergic reactions and other health effects.
There are many different types of molds, but ALL molds have the potential to cause health effects. Common health effects from mold exposure include headaches, breathing difficulties, skin irritation, allergic reactions, and aggravation of asthma symptoms. Since mold must have water to grow, it is important to prevent moisture problems and/or clean up excess water within 48 hours. While most schools are back in operation and have cleaned up the damage, it’s important to be vigilant about the signs that might indicate there is a problem brewing.
Sign to look for:
- Smell for musty/moldy odors
- Evidence of water-damaged materials, such as stained ceiling tiles and walls, buckling floor tiles, or bubbly paint
- Any sign of mold, including in out-of-sight places. Mold can be hidden behind walls, under carpet, and on the back sides of dry wall, wallpaper, or paneling.
- Any health symptoms that you or students might be experiencing since the damage occurred.
There are many resources available to help schools in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
- NEA HIN
- Materials for parents, teachers, and crisis teams on how to talk to kids after a natural disaster, PTSD, and surviving traumatic events.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- U. S. Department of Education
Help schools affected by Hurricane Sandy! Give to the NEA HIN Disaster Relief Fund, a 501(c) (3) tax exempt charity that provides aid to education communities in the wake of large scale disasters. NEA HIN staff works with state and local NEA affiliates to give grants to local aid organizations positioned to meet the needs of disaster-struck education communities. If you would like to support the fund, donate to the NEA HIN Disaster Relief Fund.
It Takes A Village
A Message From Our New Board President
I come to my role as President of the NEA HIN Board not from education, but from health care. I see NEA HIN through the lens of a physician and policy maker who has been working to make America’s health care system work better for patients.
So I ask: What can NEA HIN do to improve the health of students? I believe that NEA HIN, through the enormous reach that NEA members and partners have, can be a powerful force to help transform school community health and safety systems. That is why I am very excited to have the opportunity to serve as the Board’s President.
Here’s an example:
Asthma—remember “As Good as it Gets”?—is a huge problem for children. More than 10.5 million school days were lost to asthma in 2008, and more than half of children with asthma miss school due to an asthma attack every year. In the United States, about 1 in 10 school age children has asthma. But prevalence—and impact—are even more devastating among minority children and the economically disadvantaged.
The good news is that we know how to solve this.
We know, for example, that poor air quality provokes asthma—so that healthy school buildings are part of the solution. And we know that effective preventive care—an explicit asthma action plan, access to inhalers, trained staff, health rooms and clinics staffed by a nurse and education of students, parents, and staff to support effective execution—can have an enormous impact on the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.
And I am proud to say that NEA HIN is working, aggressively and effectively, to address these issues in schools. NEA HIN offers, in partnership with the Merck Childhood Asthma Network, a free online course to educators (Managing Asthma in the School Environment). NEA HIN provides information and training to NEA members, through the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Asthma Awareness Month, and through Tools for Schools.
But important as these are, they are only part of the solution: so much of what needs to happen has to exist in other settings in which children with asthma live and play. How can schools, and NEA HIN, help solve that?
To me—the parent of two children whose elementary schools served as the center of our community life—the answer is obvious: it takes a village to solve a problem like asthma, and schools can bring the villagers together. NEA HIN can serve as a powerful voice, and schools can serve as conveners, to organize, focus, and coordinate action among the many parties who must act together if we are to improve the care and the educational opportunity for so many of our children.
This is a new way of thinking. But it is time—our old way of thinking will not get us there. I believe NEA HIN is prepared to rise to this challenge. I also call on the federal government, foundations, and the funding community to make funds available so that the school health community can develop new systems that will do more to help students in need.
There is no higher stakes issue. The future of America lies in the education of our children. If students—the 1 in 10 with asthma, and the many others with illnesses that threaten their ability to learn—do not have the system they need to maximize their health, they will not achieve—and we as a country will not achieve—what they can and must.