When Lead Affects Learning.docx
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When Lead Affects Learning.docx
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WhenLeadAffectsLearning
WhenLeadAffectsLearning
——Newarkisthelatestcityunderscrutinyforitscontaminatedwatersupply.
ParentsinNewarkarewonderingwhethertheirchildrenhavebeenexposedtodangerousamountsoflead.SinceearlyMarch,morethanhalfofthe67districtschoolshavetestedpositiveforhighleadlevelsinthedrinkingwater,anddocumentsshowsthattheschooladministrationknewabouttheproblemformorethanayear.
Lastmonth,IvelisseMinceyreceivedanautomatedphonecallannouncingthatleadhadbeenfoundinthedrinkingwateratAbingtonAvenueSchoolinNewark,whereher12-year-oldsonAdamattends.“Iputdownthephoneinanabsolutepanic,”Minceysaid.“MysondrinkswaterfromthefountainalldaylongandnowIhavenoideawhetherheisgoingtohavehealthproblems.”LikeotherNewarkparents,Minceywantstoknowwhytheproblemwasn’tfixedsooner.“Ifeelbetrayedthattheschooldistrictdidn’tcometometoletmeknowaboutthis,”shesaid.“Theyshouldhaveprotectedmyson.”
Theleadproblemispartofapatternofschooldistrictadministratorsignoringthesafetyofstudents,accordingtosomeresidents.Foryears,parentsandcommunityleadershavestruggledtoensuretheschooladministrationaddressesarangeofhealthissuesincludingviolenceandcontaminationbyasbestosandmold.Thedistrict’sstudentsarepredominantlyAfricanAmericanandHispanicandsomeresidentssaythatalackofpoliticalpowermayhavecontributedtothefailuretoaddresstheleadsituationandotherproblems.“Thefactofthematteristhatpeopleofcolordon’thaveenoughpoliticalrepresentationtomakesurethingslikeleadpoisoningdon’thappen,”saidenvironmentalactivistKimGaddy,whose11-year-oldsonJulianattendsHarrietTubmanElementarySchool.“Weneedtomakesurethatminoritystudentscountjustasmuchaswhitestudents.”
Newark’sleadproblemscomeasthecityofFlint,Michiganiscopingwithawidespreadleadcrisis,andschoolsaroundthecountryaretestingtheirwaterforthesubstance. TheCDCsaysthatnoamountofleadinthebloodstreamissafe andexposurehas beenlinkedtodecreasedIQscoresandarangeofotherproblems.Newark’sleadcontaminationlikelycomesfromoldlead-linedpipes.Manyschooldistrictsnationwidestruggletopaytomodernizeaginginfrastructurethatcanresultinleadproblems.However,thestateofNewJerseyisobligatedtofundinfrastructureimprovementsinNewarktoremediatetheleadproblems,saidDavidSciarra,theexecutivedirectoroftheEducationLawCenter,anonprofitlegaladvocacygroupinNewark.CourtdecisionshaveruledthatthestatemustpaytocreateasafeenvironmentforNewarkstudents,hesaid.
Indecisionsstemmingfromacasewhichstartedin1985,knownasAbbotv.Burke,courtshaveissuedaseriesofrulingsthatdirect31urbanschooldistricts,includingNewark,toprovidea“thoroughandefficient”education.TheAbbottrulingsspelledoutasetofeducationimprovements,includingK-12foundationalfundinganduniversalpreschoolfor3-and4-yearolds.SciarracitedtherulingsasproofthatthestatehasanobligationtofixtheleadprobleminNewarkschools.Hesaidhisgroupwouldconsiderlegalactioniftheleadissuewasn’tquicklyaddressedbythestate.
“Theyshouldhaveprotectedmyson.”
MayorRasBaraka,whowasaprincipalinaNewarkhighschoolbeforetakingofficein2014,has saidthathewasnotaware oftheleadproblemwhenheworkedintheschoolsystem.Buta memodatedAugust2014 fromKeithBarton,thedirectorofoperationsforthedistrict,instructedallNewarkdistrictschoolstoflushwaterfountainsbyrunningthemfortwominuteseverydaybeforestudentsarrivedto“reducetheriskofpossibleleadcontamination.”Cafeteriaworkerswerealsotoldtoruncoldwaterfaucetsbeforepreparingfood.Schoolofficialsapparentlyknewforyearsthatsomeschoolshadhighleadlevelsbecausefilterstoremoveleadwereinstalledinsomeschools.
ButtheNewarkTeachersUnionlastmonthreleasedphotographsshowingthattheleadfiltershadnotbeenchangedinyearsandmayhavebeenineffectivebecauseoftheirage.“Ifschoolofficialsdidn’tknow,theydidn’twanttoknow,”saidJeffTittel,directoroftheNewJerseySierraClub.“Therewasenoughevidenceoutthereforatleastthelastfouryearsthatmoreactionshouldhavebeentakentodealwiththesituation.”
StevenMorlino,whoservedasthedistrict'sexecutivedirectoroffacilitiesbetween1999and2013,saidthatthedistrictwasawareoftheleadproblemformorethanadecade.ThefederalEnvironmentalProtectionAgencywarnedtheschooldistrictin2003thatduetoleadcontaminationvariousremedialactionswouldhavetobetakenincludinginstallingwaterfilters.However,Morlinosaidthattheschooldistrictdidnotordernewwaterfiltersafterheleftthedistrictin2013.Morlinoprovided aDecember,2011email toTheAtlanticfromthendistrictsuperintendentCamiAndersontoschoolprincipalsadvisingthemofprocedurestoreducepossibleleadcontamination.“Principalsareremindedtoinstructstudentsandstafftoruneachfountainorfaucetforatleastthirtysecondsbeforedrinking,”theemailreads.Andersonwasreplacedlastyearassuperintendent.Gaddysaidschoolofficialswere“negligent”bynotactingsooner.“It’sclearthattheschooladministrationwasn’tconcernedaboutthehealthofthechildren,”shesaid.
CurrentschoolsuperintendentChristopherCerfsaidthathemovedtoshutoffanycontaminatedwaterandinformparentsassoonashelearnedaboutthesituationinMarch.Referringtopreviousschoolsuperintendents,Cerfsaidthey“areallresponsiblepeoplewhocareaboutthewellbeingofchildren.Idon’tdoubttheirintentionsandtheirpolicymadesenseatthetime.WehavehadacollectiveconsciousnessraisingsinceFlint.”
InearlyMarch,annualdistricttestingfoundelevatedlevelsofleadintheschools’drinkingwaterandofficialsannouncedtheresults.Waterfountainsandkitchenfaucetswereorderedbeturnedoffinschoolswhereatleastonein10samplesshowedleadlevelsabovethefederalstandard.Schoolsthatareaffectedareusingbottledwaterandstudentsarebeingofferedbloodtestsforlead.NewJersey’sDepartmentofEnvironmentalProtectionsaidthatleadhadnotbeenfoundintheNewarkWaterDepartment’ssourcewater.Leadinwaterusuallyleachesfrom“eitherleadpipes,householdfixturescontainingleadorleadsolder,”theagencysaid.
LeadisnottheonlyissuefacingNewarkschools.DonnaJackson,presidentoftheUnitedParentNetwork,aNewJersey-basedparentsupportandadvocacygroup,saidthatviolenceisacommonoccurrenceinandnearthecity’sschoolsandthattheschooladministrationisnotdoingenoughtoprovidesecurity.Sheisamongresidentswhohaveaskedformoresecurityguardsandsaidthattheadministrationhasbeenunresponsive,citingbudgetissues.“Theadministrationisdoingaterriblejobhandlingissueswithviolence,”Jacksonsaid.“Parentshavetoworryabouttheirchildren’ssafetyeveryday.”SuperintendentCerfsaidthatthelevelofviolenceinNewarkschoolis“betterthanmost”otherschooldistrictsandthatotherschooldistrictshavedealtwithasbestosproblems.“SinglingoutNewarkasbeinganoutlierinanyregardiscompletelynotconsistentwiththefactsandreality,”Cerfsaid.
ActivistsalsohavehadtofighttoensurethatNewark’sschoolsarefreeofmold.Manyofthedistrict’solderbuildingsareleaky,creatingamoistenvironmentformoldtogrow,Abeigonsaid.AfterHurricaneIrenefloodedpartoftheWilsonAvenueSchoolin2011,theschoolwasinfestedwithmold.Morlinosaidhehadto“fightwiththeschooldistricttocomeupwiththemoneytomakethenecessaryrepairs.”WilsonAvenuestudentswereultimatelybusedtoanotherschooloutsidethecityfornearlyayearwhilerepairsweremade.
Newarkschoolsarealsocontinuingtodealwithasbestoscontaminationproblemsthatstretchbackmorethanadecade.In2005,theEPAreachedasettlement underwhichthedistrictwouldspend$2.25milliontofinishidentifyingandfixingasbestos-relatedproblemsinschoolbuildings.Thedistrictisrequiredtoinspectthebuildingsthreetimesayear,Morlinosaid,addingthatunderhistenure“itwasaconstantstruggletogetthemoney”todotheinspections.
Thecity’sschooldistrictismostlymadeupofpeopleofcolor.Thestudentbodywas55percentAfricanAmericanand43percentHispanicin2013,thelastyearforwhichthedistrictmadefiguresavailable.Bycontrast,NewJersey’spopulationstatewideis13percentAfricanAmericanand17percentHispanic.Sciarrasaidthecity’sschools“sufferfromintenseracialisolation.”Hebelievestheminoritypopulationdoesnothavethe“politicalclout”toensurethatissueslikeleadcleanuparecarriedout.
LikeotherleadcontaminationproblemsinschoolsaroundthecountrysuchasinCamden,N.J.andBoston,Newark’sissuesstemfromitsolderinfrastructure.Manyschoolbuildingsdatefromthe19thcenturyandhaveagingpipeslinedwithlead,saidJosephDellaFave,executivedirectoroftheIronboundCommunityCorporation,alocalsocialservicesnonprofit.“Theleadproblemisjustasymptomofacrumbling,neglectedschoolsystemthatdesperatelyneedsmoreattention,”DellaFavesaid.
AmongtheschoolsthattestedpositiveforleadisSouthStreetElementary,ahulking,brickstructureerectedin1883.SouthStreetisinNewark’sIronbounddistrict,aworkingclass,multi-ethnicneighborhoodnamedafteritsformerroleasacenteroftheironworkingtrade.Onerecentmorning,studentsfiledthroughnarrowcorridorspastwaterfountainsthathadbeenshutoffduetohighleadl
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