Teacher, Students Slammed for Asbestos Exposé

Terry Nelson’s high school journalism students found evidence of loose asbestos in the science lab of Central High School in Muncie, Indiana. The students wrote about it for their high school newspaper, and the story set off a firestorm of criticism — of Terry Nelson and her students.

Was Terry Nelson the victim of school politics? Or did she recklessly expose her students to asbestos, as her critics claimed?

Last April, two of Nelson’s students investigated complaints of loose asbestos and poor air quality in the school, and the tests they conducted with Nelson’s assistance indicated asbestos was present in the science lab. The article they wrote about what they had found was published on the front page of their school newspaper, The Munsonian.

But instead of simply following up on what the students thought they had found, the school board and administration accused Nelson of conducting unauthorized tests and exposing her students to a dangerous substance. Exposure to asbestos leads to deadly diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer.

Nelson believed her students had found a hazard that no one was talking about. The school newspaper exposé was picked up by local news media; certainly, a real-world lesson in journalism for the young students.

But the school board, administration and some parents didn’t see it that way. They did not deny there might be asbestos in the science lab, but they said the tests the students conducted had exposed the students to asbestos. If the students develop asbestos-related disease years from now, the school district could face lawsuits.

It’s not clear from news stories how the students conducted their tests, or how they might have been exposed to asbestos if asbestos wasn’t already present in the science lab. Nor is there any indication school administrators are following up with further tests.

As the end of the school year approached, Nelson resigned. She says the criticism she received from the asbestos story was not the reason she is leaving Central High School. But after her resignation she sent a letter to the school board and administration that claimed she had been "chastised, threatened and verbally reprimanded," and her students had been "bullied" and "intimidated" by school officials.

Nelson, whose students and their journalism work have won state and national awards over the years, has been hired to be a faculty instructor for the Department of Educational Studies at Ball State University.

Asbestos in schools is an ongoing problem nationwide. Schools built prior to the 1970s almost certainly contain asbestos in the insulation and elsewhere, and as the buildings age, there is increasing risk that asbestos particles will be released. But asbestos abatement is costly, and at a time when budgets for basic educational needs are being slashed, school districts would rather not deal with asbestos.

Barbara O’Brien

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 1:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.