Nov 19, 2019
Philadelphia School Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. on Tuesday announced a new environmental safety plan, pledging quicker response to asbestos concerns in school buildings and better communication with affected communities. The news came as pressure mounted on the...
Oct 24, 2019
Philadelphia School District officials waited more than a month to address warnings of possible asbestos contamination and exposure inside the gym at T.M. Peirce Elementary School in North Philadelphia. The lack of urgency is a stark contrast to how the district...
Oct 18, 2019
A few weeks into the school year, Benjamin Franklin High and Science Leadership Academy parents received an urgent note: Damaged asbestos had been discovered inside ducts in the boiler room and first-floor SLA commons. The Philadelphia School District shut the...
Oct 11, 2019
During her junior year, Mecca Taylor coped with near-constant construction noise in her high school, tools lying in the hallways, and dust everywhere. Her allergies acted up in a way they never had, and her friend’s asthma was awful. “You could see your footprints...
Oct 10, 2019
Philadelphia school superintendent William R. Hite Jr. announced Thursday that students from the two schools displaced by construction problems and the discharge of asbestos will resume classes in new locations Monday. Benjamin Franklin High School will use the former...
Oct 7, 2019
Oct 7, 2019
Classes will not resume Thursday for 1,000 Benjamin Franklin High School and Science Leadership Academy students displaced by construction woes and damaged asbestos found inside their North Broad Street building, superintendent William R. Hite Jr. announced Monday....
Oct 6, 2019
In August, doctors diagnosed a beloved Philadelphia teacher with mesothelioma, a deadly cancer caused by asbestos. She was exposed to asbestos during her nearly 30-year career at two elementary schools in South Philadelphia. Then, late last month, school district...
Sep 30, 2019
Damaged asbestos discovered within the shared campus of Benjamin Franklin High School and Science Leadership Academy will shut down the building for at least two days, officials said Monday night. In an email to staff and families, Danielle Floyd, the Philadelphia...
Sep 11, 2019
A longtime city educator has mesothelioma — a type of cancer most often caused by asbestos exposure — and Philadelphia Federation of Teachers officials said Wednesday they are investigating a potential cancer cluster linked to widespread asbestos problems in schools...
