Tag Archives: priorities

School IPM 2020 Conference

“When it comes to student learning and achievement, the physical environment is a full partner.” – Dr. Lorraine Maxwell, Cornell University

Another annual NYSIPM Conference is in the books and it was certainly different from what we imagined when we started planning last year. Covid-19 caused us to move the in-person gathering from April to a virtual conference in August. (Silver lining: it turns out virtual conferences are easier to get online than those we record with a video camera. You can now view the conference presentations from our YouTube channel.) The virus also both supported and distracted from our main goal of discussing school pest issues that need community interventions to address.

As I discussed in my July post, Back to School – Humans Only!, Covid-19 is an excellent example of an issue that cannot be handled by school personnel alone. We have all been called to support the openings of schools through practicing social distancing, wearing masks, and handwashing whenever we leave our homes. As we looked at pest issues with similar community connections, examples included pests like bed bugs coming into schools on backpacks, but also wheelchairs and cockroaches coming in supplies and food packaging. Increasing communication and engaging collaborators that can help address these issues in the community preventing the introduction of pests into schools were brought up repeatedly. You can view that discussion here. Drs. Dina Fonseca and Paul Curtis also provided us with excellent examples of community members working together to manage mosquitoes and deer.

Besides influencing our conference, how else will Covid-19 impact schools from an IPM perspective? A few virus mitigation practices have direct impact on pests.

Reduced clutter

Photo of slide from conference: "Summary – NYC study Students’ perception of the school’s social learning environment is, in part, shaped by the physical quality of the school building. The social learning environment affects student attendance and subsequently academic achievement. Demographic factors play a role but school building quality remains an important contributing factor to the learning environment."

School building conditions matter in learning outcomes.

To decrease items that need to be regularly cleaned and sanitized, only required items are being kept in classrooms. The elimination of furniture and cushions, fewer books, less arts and crafts materials (or materials stored in easy to clean containers) will provide less space for pests to hide. We touched on this in the blog post, Bed Bugs in Schools – Prevention. And, as we learned in our keynote address, Healthy Environments for Learning by Dr. Lorraine Maxwell, too much clutter can also lead to cognitive fatigue. While there is much influencing learning outcomes this year, we can hope that simplifying classrooms will help reduce pests and support learning.

Food in the classroom

There will be expanded food in classrooms as student travel within building is curtailed. Breakfast in the classroom has already proven to be challenging. This year lunch in the classroom, as well as teacher breaks, will increase the volume of food and food waste, the number of spills, and the amount of cleaning occurring throughout the school. On the School IPM Best Practices website, you can find information and resources on breakfast in the classroom.

Ventilation

To increase ventilation, windows and doors are being encouraged to be left open. Open doors leave opportunities for rodents and flying insects to enter buildings. Windows should have screens in place to exclude pests, but have screens been checked for holes or bent frames? Bobby Corrigan discussed rodent exclusion in his presentation, Identifying and Understanding the Rodent Vulnerable Areas (RVAs) of Schools: Essential for Sustainable IPM.

Sanitation

With IPM, we usually discuss cleaning more than sanitation, but Covid-19 has created a shift. (Note: this is unfortunate as this particular virus succumbs to soap and water.) We are not the experts on this issue, but have included a couple of blog posts to help provide some guidance:

The most important outcome of the conference is the message that school building matters and, indeed, as Dr. Maxwell concludes, “When it comes to student learning and achievement, the physical environment is a full partner.” And we all have a part to play.

Be sure to visit our School IPM 2020: Where We’ve Been and What’s Next webpage for information on our speakers and links to the recordings of all the presentations.

For more information on school IPM, visit our Schools and Daycare Centers webpage.

Back to School – Humans Only!

School IPM 2020: Where We’ve Been and What’s Next Conference – POSTPONED

“When it comes to student learning and achievement, the physical environment is a full partner.” – Dr. Lorraine Maxwell, Cornell University

Despite decades of promoting school integrated pest management (IPM), bed bugs, cockroaches, lice, and mice continue to be a problem in schools. Part of the issue is lack of implementation of proven IPM techniques such as exclusion. Part of the issue is that some pests, like bed bugs, German cockroaches and lice arrive in backpacks, delivered supplies, and directly on students and staff. While schools often have plans in place to address these pests when they are discovered, it will take a wider community effort to prevent their introductions.

The Sixth Annual NYS IPM conference brings together a wide range of speakers to address and discuss the status of school IPM adoption and where we need to go in the future. If you or your family is impacted by pests or pest management on and off school property, this is the conference for you.

Our keynote speaker, Lorraine Maxwell, will discuss “Healthy Environments for Learning”. Her research has found that school building conditions, which include conducive conditions for pests as well as the presence of pests, impact the school’s social climate, which directly impacts student performance.

Date: April 22, 2020

Location: New York State United Teachers Headquarters, 800 Troy Schenectady Rd, Latham, NY 12110

Cost: $45 includes all breaks and lunch

We have applied for NYS Pesticide Applicator Recertification Credits.

For more information and to register, visit https://tinyurl.com/NYSchoolIPMConference.

Sponsors:

AGENDA
8:30	Registration
9:00	What is the status of IPM implementation within NYS schools · NYS Integrated Pest Management Program – Lynn Braband, NYS IPM Program · NYS Department of Education – Daryl Andreades, Senior Architect · Healthy Schools Network – Claire Barnett, Founder and Executive Director · NYS School Facilities Association – Fred Koelbel, NYSSFA Board of Directors and Port Jefferson School District Plant Facilities Administrator
10:20	BREAK
10:45	Panel Discussion · NYS Integrated Pest Management Program · NYS Department of Education · Healthy Schools Network · NYS School Facilities Association · NYS Department of Health – Michele Herdt, Clean, Green, and Healthy Schools Program Director · New York State United Teachers – Veronica Foley, Health and Safety Specialist · Association for Educational Safety and Health Professionals – Patricia Cerio, Safety Coordinator
11:45	LUNCH
12:30	Keynote Address: Healthy Environments for Learning, Lorraine Maxwell, Associate Professor, Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University
1:15	What We’re Doing – Community Intervention · Mosquitoes – Dina Fonseca, Director, Rutgers Center for Vector Biology · Deer/ticks – Kristina Ferrare, Forestry Program Specialist, CCE Onondaga County · Mice/rats –Georgianna Silveira, City of Somerville
2:45	BREAK
3:00	Break out groups – Strategies for interventions · Bed bugs – Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, NYS IPM Program · Cockroaches – Matthew Frye, NYS IPM Program · Establish school IPM priorities –Joellen Lampman, NYS IPM Program
3:45	Report and Wrap-Up
4:30	Adjourn

The ABCs of School and Childcare Pest Management

NY State Integrated Pest Management Program

Tag Archives: priorities

School IPM 2020 Conference

“When it comes to student learning and achievement, the physical environment is a full partner.” – Dr. Lorraine Maxwell, Cornell University

Back to School – Humans Only!

School IPM 2020: Where We’ve Been and What’s Next Conference – POSTPONED

“When it comes to student learning and achievement, the physical environment is a full partner.” – Dr. Lorraine Maxwell, Cornell University