Posted on 11/11/2007 9:16:53 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
On one hand, you have images of classrooms stripped as bare as jail cells and teachers fined $109 a day for daring to display the alphabet.
On the other, you have the frightening specter of fire climbing the walls of a classroom.
Middleton, WI fire officials have photographic evidence of what happens when classroom displays go up in flames: When a former Sauk Trail Elementary teacher left a candle burning in her room in January 2004, the papers hanging on the walls burned the hottest.
The controversy in Middleton over new fire-code requirements for schools has generated protests from angry parents. When printed, the pile of e-mails on the fire chief's desk is high enough to start a bonfire.
"Some of the e-mails I've gotten are downright nasty, " Chief Aaron Harris said. "Wow. These people don't understand how fires start and spread."
It also prompted peace talks Friday afternoon between the school superintendent, the fire chief and the Middleton mayor. The decision: The law must be obeyed.
And if this sounds familiar -- yes, this is exactly the same fight Madison had back in 2003, when the city adopted a new fire code.
In Middleton, the controversy has its roots in an incident this summer. Harris said the district's risk specialist invited the Middleton Fire Department to inspect the schools for safety problems.
Fire inspector Brad Subera noted that the schools weren't meeting the fire code goal of having no more than 20 percent of their walls covered with flammable material.
At issue is which fire code: The more lenient International Fire Code or the more stringent National Fire Protection Association rules?
Harris said when he consulted with the state Department of Commerce, he was told state law requires him to enforce the more rigid rules which require classrooms, as well as hallways, to meet the 20 percent rule.
It's easy to see why teachers are upset.
Many of them have invested their own money and creativity in coming up with colorful learning aides. In teacher Steve D 'Onofrio 's fourth-grade classroom at Sauk Trail Elementary, children see displays on the six traits of good writing, the spelling rules, number charts, photos of places studied in social studies and "word walls. "
"We have a high concentration of English language learners," D'Onofrio said. "It's important for them to be able to see the words."
The bad news for teachers like D 'Onofrio is that they may have to pick and choose what to display.
The good news: The fire department says it has no intention of fining teachers or principals.
Harris said fire officials will help teachers find flame-resistant materials. He said by using a special kind of laminate coating and fire resistant construction paper teachers could cover 30 percent of their walls with learning materials.
And, "If they have sprinklers, that can go to 50 percent," he said.
What?
Aren't schools required to have the same fire sprinklers found in many businesses?
Well, no. In Middleton, only the new wing of the high school has sprinklers, the chief said.
In Madison, Lori Wirth of the Madison Fire Department says only the district 's newest school -- Chavez Elementary -- is entirely equipped with sprinkler. Other schools have sprinklers in "hazard areas, " she said.
By the way, Wirth says "compliance has been good " as Madison fire inspectors check city schools for the 20 percent rule.
Emotions will likely settle down in Middleton, as well.
But maybe the anger over the fire code would be better channeled into asking why schools aren't required to have the same sprinkler systems that protect the children when they hang out at the shopping mall.
Here we go again, you know the routine...
Chavez Elementary!
A little “over the edge”, IMO.
Let’s get all the furniture and wallcoverings out of everyone’s house, especially those “bad” mattresses, and anything with an electrical cord.
Don’t you know how fires get started?
Hmmm. Learning aides or learning aids, that is my question.
"We have a high concentration of English language learners," D'Onofrio said. "It's important for them to be able to see the words."
Indeed!
So I guess wall paper is out too?
My husband is the fire inspector for the city that we live in. I am a high school teacher in the same city. These laws are created for a reason: Most teachers are morons! Did you notice that the fire in the school started because a teacher left a candle burning? Candles are not allowed in schools!
So the way I understand it:
A teacher (or somebody) started a school on fire with a candle.
So instead of saying “no more candles” they say “No more pictures on the walls”.
Dumbchits.
“Candles are not allowed in schools!”
Well, of course not! You can’t conduct Wiccan and Druid rituals in the Madistan public schools without them. ;)
Little Red Schoolhouse alert!
Ya, I noticed that too. I checked the school district’s Web site: it’s named for Cesar Chavez, not the Venezuelan Chavez.
They are building yet another new school. Some suggested names are:
Rachel Carson
Peace
and...
STEVE IRWIN!
(To be fair, someone’s suggested Ronald Reagan.)
http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/cso/news/newschool_names_101807.htm
“Candles are not allowed in schools!”
Are Bunsen burners still allowed in chemistry labs? Oxy-acetelyene torches in shop?
Also:
“We have a high concentration of English language learners,” D’Onofrio said.
So their language learners are from England? Or do they mean “English-language learners” (note hyphen)?
And they also probably mean to say that they have a high percentage or proportion of them.
It’s nothing a pile of money won’t fix. Get out your wallets and pay up. It’s for the children, you know.
So their language learners are from England? Or do they mean "English-language learners" (note hyphen)?
LOL. I missed that one.
They're both ridiculous and getting worse. Some of these morons want to ban matches, lighters and other fire atarting mat'ls. I realize this is a school, but you really have to be a moron and work at that to start the kids' papers on fire.
Also, a candle should be in a candle holder. When the candle runs out of wax, the flame should just go out, not jump over to the wall and set the papers on fire.
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