100 signatures reached
To: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney
No More Asbestos and Lead in Philadelphia Schools: Mayor Kenney & Superintendent Hite Must Act
Take district-wide action to protect students from lead and asbestos in Philadelphia Public Schools. Starting with an evaluation of the schools that are still open.
(1) Address rodents, bed bugs, mites, water damage, mold, asbestos and lead in buildings
(2) No more permanent school closures, remediation not closure
(3) Create a city-wide plan for students during transition process while schools are being fixed
(4) No more than 100,000 fibers per square centimeter or higher in surface dust at any Philadelphia Public School.
Why is this important?
Black children in Philadelphia are being exposed to lead as a result of systemic racism ensuring that they would be exposed to the worst our nation and our city has to offer. Over 130,000 Philadelphia Public School students and teachers are exposed to toxic conditions daily. The majority of the students and teachers that make up this number are black and brown that live in low-income communities. Just at Lewis C. Cassidy Elementary School, a predominantly Black school, students are being exposed to asbestos levels 50 times higher than the highest result for settled asbestos dust found indoors in apartments near ground zero after the 9/11 terror attacks. Can you imagine what these levels of asbestos and lead are doing to children in the classroom?
Antoine Little, a parent at T.M Peirce Elementary School in North Philadelphia had to recently pull his son out of school because of exposed asbestos. Antoine along with a half dozen other concerned parents demand that their children be relocated in the meantime. Antoine heard of the asbestos from the media. The school never sent out a letter advising parents about the condition of the school for weeks. It’s been over 3 weeks that his son has not been to school and with his asthma already being severe, he physically simply cannot continue to breathe in toxins and attend T.M Peirce Elementary School until the conditions are fixed.
Philadelphia is exposing its students and teachers to serious conditions daily that can and will lead to serious medical issues in the future. That's why pediatricians across the country stress that there is no safe level of lead and toxins for our kids. No child should be exposed to dangerous toxins while trying to learn in the classroom. Our black communities and schools receive the least funding and are in immediate danger. Lea DiRusso, a teacher in Philadelphia schools, was recently diagnosed with mesothelioma. This deadly form of cancer is only caused from long-term exposure to asbestos. Lea was a teacher for more than 30 years and now will spend her later years battling this terrible disease.
We cannot let the City of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Public Schools system to continue to let down our black children. Current law in Pennsylvania doesn’t require remediation levels to be taken and doesn’t require results of testing be shared directly with parents. This means that where problems exist, there is no pressure on the part of the school district legally, to address these problems. The school district has rolled out a plan that is asking students and their families to “trust the process”. Black students in toxic schools should not be expected to just sit back and trust the process.
Take district-wide action to protect kids from lead and asbestos in Philadelphia Public Schools. It's time for the Mayor of Philadelphia Jim Kinney, Superintendent William Hite along with school officials to adopt a policy that will clean up all toxins in Philadelphia Public Schools.