Educator: Report sounds alarm about lead levels in Indiana schools
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — As Indiana lawmakers consider new rules aimed at improving reading performance through testing and extra teaching, one Indianapolis-based group cautions that solutions cannot be found in textbooks and lesson plans alone.
“We have over 50,000 variable points here from Indianapolis showing us that if kids are exposed to lead, their academic achievement is going to tank,” says Dr. Addie Angelov in a conversation with WISH-TV’s “Daybreak.” She has a doctorate in special education and multicultural education from Indiana University, Bloomington.
Angelov is the chief executive officer and co-founder of the Paramount Health Data Project. It’s a nonprofit that researches links between the health of students and their performance in school.
The connections between lead exposure and intellectual development have long been known, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions too many families and children still face unsafe exposure to it, whether through lead pipes, paint, toys, proximity to toxic sites, or even home remedies
A new report from Paramount called “The ABCs of Academic Health” presents a set of recommendations, based on years of research centered on three local schools.
The lead component of the study finds glaring differences in academic achievement between the schools that have lead levels that are in compliance and the third school, which was found in a study to have lead levels four times than the legal limit.
“It’s happening right here in Indianapolis,” Angelov says as she emphasizes the importance of the new report. “We have a five-year longitudinal study that shows the direct impact on kids’ academic achievement and their literacy rates.”
Paramount is encouraging state lawmakers to support House Bill 1117, which would establish a state-administered lead testing and remediation program.
“Right now, we’re working from federal grants so getting state grants that won’t go away is super important. Then also ensure that the Indiana Department of Health and the Indiana Department of Education are talking to each other in tangible ways that affect the classroom.”