Has anyone successfully gotten their school to go nut free? My son will be starting kindergarton at our local public school, August 2007. He is allergic to peanuts. I know there are, or will be, at least 2 other children with either peanut or treenut allergies at the school. We are looking to ask the school to go nut free. Any ideas would be great!
FYI: My daughter (no food allergies) currently attends this school.
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I'm hoping you get lots of responses here with current info -- I am watching for northern Virginia & DC area keenly as we may likely move there next summer. . . [moving, again, just shoot me.]
Keep re-raising this after the TGiving holiday to see what kind of responses you get.
~Eliz
Our school (not public) went peanut-free five years ago. The principal made the decision to go peanut-free without being asked. I think one reason this has been so successful was that the principal took full responsibility for her decision and never put the peanut-allergic children or their families in the middle. She handled any conflicts, complaints, etc. Now it is just accepted that our school is peanut-free.
I think it is reasonable for an elementary school where one or more students have contact allergies to peanuts to be peanut-free. I don't think it is reasonable to make the school tree nut-free where there are no such issues.
There will be children at the school with both peanut and treenut allergies.
And the treenut allergies...are they airborne, or contact or not?
Hi, My son is in the same situation. He is starting Kindergarten in Sept 2007 and have several extreme allergies and is airborne and contact to peanut/nuts. He is also very asthmatic. We are having the same struggle. The privvate schools in Mass that are peanut and nut free are in the $20K+ range and the publics are not nut free unless you litigate and struggle. We have started doing some things if you would like some help. I would be happy to share information. Please feel free to email me too. This is a really hard issue and I so understand. We have had many meetings with schools, spokens to state people and have gone further, any help I can be. We are still working. It takes alot of work from the allergist too. I can give you a list of all the things I have done so far too. Quote:Originally posted by iansmommy:
[b]Has anyone successfully gotten their school to go nut free? My son will be starting kindergarton at our local public school, August 2007. He is allergic to peanuts. I know there are, or will be, at least 2 other children with either peanut or treenut allergies at the school. We are looking to ask the school to go nut free. Any ideas would be great!
FYI: My daughter (no food allergies) currently attends this school. [/b]
Getting a public school to go nut free will definitely be a challenge. If you are serious about it, you will need to do a lot of research on public schools that have gone peanut free and present it to the school board. At our school, there are children with juvenile diabetes and apparently they must eat peanut butter. Therefore, we have almost no chance of becoming peanut free. good luck.
BS312 - are they tree-nut free as well? Where is your school located? Do you find that the resistance among parents has diminished . . . and do you feel that there is true compliance with the school's policy? Thanks.
Definately in Mass there has been much resitance with parents in the public schools. But there are a handful of private schools that are peanut/nut free envirmonments completely not nut products at all. I have not felt resisitance at all in speaking to these schools or to any of the parents at these private schools. Its been much different in the public. We have two areas in Mass that have gone NUT FREE for the whole school and I know it was not easy on them at all. THe rest has been forced by parents with children like ours that have pressed or taken legal action and its not district wide, but maybe a specific school. I am in the process since he is starting next year and he is beyond severe, he will be somewhere nut free, and has too many other issues to deal with. Whether this school goes nut free or takes other measures to help us is another issue. I must say I have found great complaiance at most of the private schools.
NUT FREE SCHOOLS IN MASS:
Tobin School in Natick MA
Park School in Brookline, MA
Cambridge Friend School in Cambridge, MA
Wakefield Public Schools in MA
Alcott School in Concord, MA
Peanut Free
Atrium School in Watertown, MA Quote:Originally posted by Yonit:
[b]BS312 - are they tree-nut free as well? Where is your school located? Do you find that the resistance among parents has diminished . . . and do you feel that there is true compliance with the school's policy? Thanks.[/b]
Does anyone know of peanut free schools in Vermont or Ct? We are considering a move and would love some info from those 2 places.
------------------
Stacie - Mother to:
10 yr. PA
8 yr. TNA
2.5 yr. PA&TNA
Quote:Originally posted by PA&TNA allergy mom:
[b]Does anyone know of peanut free schools in Vermont or Ct? We are considering a move and would love some info from those 2 places.
[/b]
In addition to searching in the Schools Forum you may also want to search in Media. This is one article I found there that might help
[url="http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum8/HTML/001622.html."]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum8/HTML/001622.html.[/url]
You might also want to try [url="http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org,"]www.kidswithfoodallergies.org,[/url] there is a log on a peanut free school list and I searched it for you and Tolland CT was listed, as one of the ones people had mentioned, but I didn't find anything on their website. They are also a great resource.
Quote:Originally posted by PA&TNA allergy mom:
[b]Does anyone know of peanut free schools in Vermont or Ct? We are considering a move and would love some info from those 2 places.
[/b]
The Eliot Montessori School in Natick, MA is peanut/nut free too.
Our peanut-free parochial school is in Maryland. We are not tree nut-free. DD has presumably life-threatening tree nut allergies (high CAP-RAST, never exposed) and she has never had a problem with tree nuts at school.
A few parents complained about the policy initially. Our principal would handle any complaints and I might not be aware if there have been any recently. Compliance is extremely high. All kids, teachers and staff are aware and if anything containing peanut is mistakenly brought to school it is sent back home with a note. Notices asking for baked goods for school functions routinely state that items must be peanut-free. I believe that most of the PA kids (but not my DD) eat cafeteria food and food brought by other parents for parties etc. There have been no food allergic reactions in the 4 1/2 years we've been peanut-free.
Rivier College Early Childhood Center in Nashua, NH is peanut free/ tree nut free.
They also have daycare. They are wonderful! If anyone in southern NH is looking for a great preschool/kindergarten experience, as well as it being peanut/nut free.
They also have a full-time nurse at the Early Childhood Center.
I'm hoping you get lots of responses here with current info -- I am watching for northern Virginia & DC area keenly as we may likely move there next summer. . . [moving, again, just shoot me.]
Keep re-raising this after the TGiving holiday to see what kind of responses you get.
~Eliz
Our school (not public) went peanut-free five years ago. The principal made the decision to go peanut-free without being asked. I think one reason this has been so successful was that the principal took full responsibility for her decision and never put the peanut-allergic children or their families in the middle. She handled any conflicts, complaints, etc. Now it is just accepted that our school is peanut-free.
I think it is reasonable for an elementary school where one or more students have contact allergies to peanuts to be peanut-free. I don't think it is reasonable to make the school tree nut-free where there are no such issues.
There will be children at the school with both peanut and treenut allergies.
And the treenut allergies...are they airborne, or contact or not?
Hi, My son is in the same situation. He is starting Kindergarten in Sept 2007 and have several extreme allergies and is airborne and contact to peanut/nuts. He is also very asthmatic. We are having the same struggle. The privvate schools in Mass that are peanut and nut free are in the $20K+ range and the publics are not nut free unless you litigate and struggle. We have started doing some things if you would like some help. I would be happy to share information. Please feel free to email me too. This is a really hard issue and I so understand. We have had many meetings with schools, spokens to state people and have gone further, any help I can be. We are still working. It takes alot of work from the allergist too. I can give you a list of all the things I have done so far too. Quote:Originally posted by iansmommy:
[b]Has anyone successfully gotten their school to go nut free? My son will be starting kindergarton at our local public school, August 2007. He is allergic to peanuts. I know there are, or will be, at least 2 other children with either peanut or treenut allergies at the school. We are looking to ask the school to go nut free. Any ideas would be great!
FYI: My daughter (no food allergies) currently attends this school. [/b]
Getting a public school to go nut free will definitely be a challenge. If you are serious about it, you will need to do a lot of research on public schools that have gone peanut free and present it to the school board. At our school, there are children with juvenile diabetes and apparently they must eat peanut butter. Therefore, we have almost no chance of becoming peanut free. good luck.
BS312 - are they tree-nut free as well? Where is your school located? Do you find that the resistance among parents has diminished . . . and do you feel that there is true compliance with the school's policy? Thanks.
Definately in Mass there has been much resitance with parents in the public schools. But there are a handful of private schools that are peanut/nut free envirmonments completely not nut products at all. I have not felt resisitance at all in speaking to these schools or to any of the parents at these private schools. Its been much different in the public. We have two areas in Mass that have gone NUT FREE for the whole school and I know it was not easy on them at all. THe rest has been forced by parents with children like ours that have pressed or taken legal action and its not district wide, but maybe a specific school. I am in the process since he is starting next year and he is beyond severe, he will be somewhere nut free, and has too many other issues to deal with. Whether this school goes nut free or takes other measures to help us is another issue. I must say I have found great complaiance at most of the private schools.
NUT FREE SCHOOLS IN MASS:
Tobin School in Natick MA
Park School in Brookline, MA
Cambridge Friend School in Cambridge, MA
Wakefield Public Schools in MA
Alcott School in Concord, MA
Peanut Free
Atrium School in Watertown, MA Quote:Originally posted by Yonit:
[b]BS312 - are they tree-nut free as well? Where is your school located? Do you find that the resistance among parents has diminished . . . and do you feel that there is true compliance with the school's policy? Thanks.[/b]
Does anyone know of peanut free schools in Vermont or Ct? We are considering a move and would love some info from those 2 places.
------------------
Stacie - Mother to:
10 yr. PA
8 yr. TNA
2.5 yr. PA&TNA
Quote:Originally posted by PA&TNA allergy mom:
[b]Does anyone know of peanut free schools in Vermont or Ct? We are considering a move and would love some info from those 2 places.
[/b]
In addition to searching in the Schools Forum you may also want to search in Media. This is one article I found there that might help
[url="http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum8/HTML/001622.html."]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum8/HTML/001622.html.[/url]
You might also want to try [url="http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org,"]www.kidswithfoodallergies.org,[/url] there is a log on a peanut free school list and I searched it for you and Tolland CT was listed, as one of the ones people had mentioned, but I didn't find anything on their website. They are also a great resource.
Quote:Originally posted by PA&TNA allergy mom:
[b]Does anyone know of peanut free schools in Vermont or Ct? We are considering a move and would love some info from those 2 places.
[/b]
The Eliot Montessori School in Natick, MA is peanut/nut free too.
Our peanut-free parochial school is in Maryland. We are not tree nut-free. DD has presumably life-threatening tree nut allergies (high CAP-RAST, never exposed) and she has never had a problem with tree nuts at school.
A few parents complained about the policy initially. Our principal would handle any complaints and I might not be aware if there have been any recently. Compliance is extremely high. All kids, teachers and staff are aware and if anything containing peanut is mistakenly brought to school it is sent back home with a note. Notices asking for baked goods for school functions routinely state that items must be peanut-free. I believe that most of the PA kids (but not my DD) eat cafeteria food and food brought by other parents for parties etc. There have been no food allergic reactions in the 4 1/2 years we've been peanut-free.
Rivier College Early Childhood Center in Nashua, NH is peanut free/ tree nut free.
They also have daycare. They are wonderful! If anyone in southern NH is looking for a great preschool/kindergarten experience, as well as it being peanut/nut free.
They also have a full-time nurse at the Early Childhood Center.
Question of the Week: Answered!
Every week, PeanutAllergy.com answers one of the questions posted in our community.
Our Answer:
Thank you for your question. It’s challenging to find a good environment for children where parents can really feel they are safe. It’s good that you are addressing this concern. Unfortunately, outside food is something that you will always have to be wary of in public places but there are steps you can take to keep your child safe at school.
For starters, it’s important that you talk to the teachers and staff about your child’s allergy. They should know that it’s severe and you should make sure a school nurse is equipped to take action in the case of an allergic reaction. If it seems like the staff is not understanding, there are steps you can take to speak to them about the severity of your child’s allergy. You can read more about talking to others about a child’s allergy here.
You can also consider a 504 plan for your child. A 504 plan would allow you to set specific accommodations for your child at school. It would also allow you to document them so they are followed. You can read more about 504 plans and how to talk to your child’s school about a 504 plan here.
It’s also important that you speak to school staff about cross-contamination. It can be difficult for people without food allergies (or people whose children don’t have food allergies) to sometimes understand the severity of an allergy. You can read more about talking to others about cross-contamination here.
We also reached out to our Facebook community with your question, and you can see their responses here.
We hope this information helps. Take care!
I understand your concerns for an environment that is safe and will foster your daughters learning. As the mom of a now nearly 21 yr old with similar level of sensitivity and concerns for the same when she started kindergarden in 2000 when this allergy was barely heard of. I can only share my perspective and experience in the hopes it gives you insight and food for thought.
In her early years we did require a nut free class room and a safe zone in the cafeteria. We worked very hard to educate all that were part of her day. Some were excepting and others not. It never changed my vigilance or intensity I had for her safety. At 6th grade in her ISD they combined four elementarys into one school. At this point she began to carry her own epi-pens and had the understanding of all staff that at any given moment she could remove herself from an unsafe environment and report dirrectly to the school nurse. By high school she was empowered to go to the Principal's office when issues arose and address them then. Her finding her voice was for me the most important part of the process. I needed to know she could and would stand up to precieved authority to protect herself in an environment where she was expected to always follow orders. I needed her to be able to go to college and succeed.
I am not of the mindset of a nut free school. The reality of the world is that nuts are everywhere. She will grow up and have to navigate bigger campus', work environments and social situations that are not so kind and undersatnding.
By 4th grade our daughter was able to recognize products we never had in our home, foods and non foods that could be a danger. She was her own first line of defense. Controling the school environment at some level is good. We had other provisions like requiring hand washing after lunch for fellow grade students as they left lunch and went to the play ground all together. She had 'her spot' at the table that was center on the table and required no one within two people in all dirrections had nuts of any kind. She had friends that also looked out for her. She was never segregated from classmates and we did not allow for her exclusion of activities. They understood the law did not allow for them to exclude her ever. Yes there were times I wanted to ..... shall we say correct others bad choices in a not so proper way but over all her public school experience was merely preperation for life.
I am proud to say she attends college has a full time job and enjoy's her life much like anyother 20 yr old. With a few consessions here and there.
I hope this helps you in some way and know this forum is a wonderful place for advice and different prespectives.