Keeping Our Children and Teachers Safe Parents and teachers are bombarded almost daily with news stories concerning the safety of our children s schools. Safety in school is usually equated with protection from guns or assault, but this focus on violence overlooks the fact that only 10 percent of all injuries to children and adolescents at school are the result of assault by another person. The majority of injuries on school grounds are the result of unintentional accidents. While some 50 percent occurred in recreational areas such as the playground or in gym class, many occur right in the classroom. In particular, a potential for safety problems exists in science classrooms and laboratories.
Laboratory safety begins with the best safety device .
Unfortunately, no detailed national guidelines on safety in the science lab exist. In order to arm teachers with current information on laboratory safety guidelines in North Carolina schools, the Department of Public Instruction created the North Carolina Total Science Safety Project in 1995. Science Consultants from DPI conducted research on school laboratory safety from 1995 to 1998, and Dr. Gerlovich was brought in as a consultant to assist their efforts. Together, they produced a North Carolina specific version of The Total Science Safety System, a software package produced by Dr. Gerlovich that assists schools in locating potential hazards such as improperly stored chemicals, implementing required safety guidelines, and preventing avoidable accidents. This software is currently available for all school systems in North Carolina.