Choosing a Pesticide Free School

Many schools have real pest problems. Wasps and ticks are a few examples. But there are alternative ways, natural ways, to get rid of pests. Considering the carcinogenic side effects of the common pesticide sprays why not choose natural pest management choosing? A school can rid themselves of disease carrying pests and not contribute to cancer. This is why I applaud states like Connecticut which has ban pesticide application in and near schools.

"Neuroblastoma Linked to Hormone treated with Pesticides", Epidemiology . Where Neuroblastomas account for 10% of childhood tumors and rates have been increasing over the last 50 years. This was a colaborative study between 6 universities and St. Judes Children's Research Hospital.

"Breast Cancer Linked to Hormone Pesticide Chlordane" This study was performed by Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Lubbock, TX and the US Army Institute of Surgical Research.

S.T.A.T.E Report with 38 citations This is a long report but a few of the quotes are as follows.

"Many components are classified as "inert", which allows them to be kept hidden from the public and not listed on product labels. These are more than just fillers or solvents. "Inert" does not mean "inactive" - some, such as benzene and xylene, are more toxic than listed chemicals.(1,2)"

"Fat soluble pesticides accumulate over time in our bodies, then are released at potentially toxic levels when illness or stress results in our fat reserves being metabolized. A large portion of a woman's lifetime exposure to such pesticides is released in the breast milk for her firstborn child.(37) "

"Some pesticides labeled "bio-degradable" degrade into compounds more dangerous than the original. Examples include Mancozeb, which degrades into a substance that is an EPA-classified probable carcinogen.(6) The pesticide industry also implies that "organic" means safe and natural (for example, "Nature's Lawn"), knowing that the term legally may be applied to any compound containing carbon and hydrogen. ChemLawn and other lawn "care" companies and manufacturers have often been sued for fictitious claims.(5-14)"

"Now it is even being found that chlorpyrifos causes multiple sclerosis.(38)"

"The United States General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, has also tried to alert the public to lawn chemical dangers. GAO's undercover team noted many fictitious claims by many in the lawn "care" industry.(35) Many included illegal claims of product safety. Others were just deceiving, such as the ChemLawn claim that a child would have to ingest ten cups of treated grass clippings to equal the toxicity of one baby aspirin. In fact, the real danger is not that people will be grazing the lawn but that most poisonings come from inhaling pesticide residues or absorbing them through the skin.(6,7,10)"



Parents should also note that many schools may not use a commercial supplier. Often the maintenance personnel does the deed. Though, pesticides applied with or without training can lead to the maintenance person also getting exposure to carcinogens along with the students. That does not seem like a good way to keep insurance costs down.

The responsibility for taking care of the student, that develops the cancer, will fall on the parents. When you think about all the pain and suffering the child will go through, not to mention the cost to the parents, why not use an effective alternative?

Student safety should be at the top of the list of requierments when it comes to choosing a school.

Voter Registration

Oddly enough people sometimes find themselves not able to vote. This is due to them not being registered anymore !

Whatever the reason: change of address, name change, politicians playing games...etc there is a way to see if you are still registered. For NYS residents you can go https://voterlookup.elections.state.ny.us/votersearch.aspx and type in your info then click search.


As a side note when it comes to keeping my private ID safe I often close out my browser completely. This includes right clicking on the browser Icon on my desk top and clicking on "quite". I also clear history when prompted to. I wait a few seconds and then reopen my browser. These steps seem time consuming at first...but if you just got done ordering a product on line, gave out your credit card number, or do online banking it is wise to clear your history or another person can easily pull up the last page you were on.

Vaccines - Post IV - NYS School Requierments

Link to NYS Requirements for vaccinations for entry into public schools.

Notice there is a different requirement if your child attends Pre-School or is going to Kindergarten.

Prekindergarten and Beyond

There are many choices for Prekindergarten. I have spoken with a few parents that recently had children graduating from Pre-K and entering Kindergarten. What was interesting was what different parents saw as being beneficial. All the parents saw social skills as being important. But from there the parents began to shift. The biggest determinant seemed to be foresight. How far out into the future each parent was looking to create opportunities. For some "good enough" was all they wanted. Then you have the other side where the parent will "do the best they can do". Other concerns playing a role were balancing cost for Pre-K, grammar, high school and college.

One of my neighbors said they looked at several schools. (Both parents are very active in their children's lives.) They are educated people with two girls, two dogs and a gorgeous Victorian home with gardens. In addition they are fun and caring. And they got lucky ! Well, It wasn't luck. They were smart and found a balance.

They sent their oldest to a respected private Pre-K that also happens to be a NYS Universal UPK program. (UPK is a state funded Pre-K program that is provided to communities though a variety of forms. A church, private, public, community or independent nursery school can become a UPK. Though, UPK sets the minimum. It is up to the nursery school to build on the minimum. So all UPK's are not equal...caveat emptor.) Having gotten things started by going to a high quality nursery school their child then applied to Buffalo's Olmstead School a public school. She was excepted into their Gifted and Talented program. This program is a feeder school for City Honors a public school. City Honors is in the top 5 schools in all of the United States. Now that their kid is "IN" they can focus all their school savings on University.

They sound like they have a very satisfying life. They have earned it.

Vaccines - Post II - NYS Religious Exemption Form

You can find the NYS Religious Exemption Form here.