Parents Asked Not to Send Cleaning Products to School

Flu season is at hand, and in past years that meant parents of Ledyard students would send Clorox wipes and other cleansing products to school to sanitize desktops, table tops, lockers and so on. In fact, one school board member said, teachers sometimes would request these items in a “wish list.” 

That practice is now a thing of the past thanks to a new state law that took effect this summer. The new law requires that only environmentally preferable cleaning products that carry either Green Seal or EcoLogo certification may be used in public schools.

On Wednesday, the Ledyard Board of Education heard a presentation on the new policy by Maintenance Director Sam Kilpatrick. He said the onset of the so-called “Green Cleaning Program” came in response to an increasing incidence of asthma and other allergies among school children.

The district decided that the best way to comply with the new law would be to ask that no cleansing or sanitizing products be brought to school by parents, students, teachers or staff. Instead, the schools will supply products that are acceptable under the new law. 

“The use of environmentally preferable cleaners will mean improved health for all school occupants by reducing exposure to toxic chemicals and asthma triggers that can be found in many cleaning products, especially those available over-the-counter,” the policy states.

To ensure that only appropriate cleaning products are used, “no parent, guardian, teacher or staff member may bring into any school facility any consumer product which is intended to clean, deodorize, sanitize of disinfect.”

“Parents may send in paper towels,” Kilpatrick said, but the schools will provide an appropriate product to spray desktops and other surfaces.  The schools also will provide Purell hand sanitizer in certain areas, he said, including science labs and athletic facilities.

“This is required by law, but it’s also the right thing to do,” said Gordon Strickland, who chairs the school board’s policy committee.

CMT scores

In other business, the town’s three elementary school principals presented Connecticut Mastery Test data, which tracked the progress of core groups of students from third- to sixth-grade in reading, writing and math. In presenting the data, each principal discussed trends and how results were achieved.

Gallup Hill School Principal Jennifer Byars reported that among sixth-graders at her school this year, 85.4 percent achieved goal in reading, 77.3 percent in writing and 77.3 percent in math. Fifth-graders, who are tested in science, achieved an 62.8 percent "at goal" mark.

Ledyard Center School Principal Greg Keith reported that among his sixth-graders this year goal was achieved by 91.9 percent in reading, 85.2 percent in writing and 90.3 percent in math. The fifth-grade science mark this year was 81 percent.

Gales Ferry and Juliet W. Long Schools Principal Anne Hogsten reported that her among sixth-graders this year 84.8 percent achieved goal in reading, 75 percent in writing, and 86.6 percent in math. Fifth-grade science was 89.2 percent.

Each principal noted where scores appeared to level over the years or dipped slightly in a few instances. They described measures that would be taken by faculty and staff to address these instances.

Overall, the scores were quite good.

“What we’ve always wanted in Ledyard is continuous improvement, and these presentations show that this is indeed occurring,” said school board Chairwoman Sharon Hightower. 

Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Graner called the scores solid, noting that the sixth-grade goal percentages for all schools ranged from the mid-to-high 70s to the low 90s. 

“If you’re in the mid-70s, you’re doing pretty well,” Graner said. “If you’re in the 80s, you’re doing extremely well.”