Silent Killer: How Richmond Public Schools’ Neglect is Affecting the Health of their Students and Faculty
Students in under-resourced schools do As a kid, I loved attending school in my not have the privilege to just focus on town, especially elementary school, schooling when they face respiratory because I got to learn new subjects and complications from black mold in the see my friends. Public schools have a facilities. It is our job as college students place in my life, from my mother who to bring attention to these problems and works in the paraprofessional field in help create and implement solutions to Maryland to my sister who does marine better the future for young students. biology outreach to students in Newport News. That is one of the reasons Life Ain't Easy Being Wheezy educational inequalities hit so hard, In 2023, Richmond was rated by the especially when Asthma and Allergy Foundation of Americ 90% of students attend public schools, a (AAFA) most children are exposed to these as seventh for being the most negative experiences. When children are challenging city for people with asthma. set up to fail from the beginning how can Members describe how Richmond has a we as a society expect for them to know disproportionate rate of asthma death in any different? The one inequality that I Black children, with rates at five times focus on this article is healthy problems the national average. The allowance for that stem from lack of maintenance this exposure to occur is nothing short of presence in the buildings. negligence on the schools' part. 22
