Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich recently suggested, in order to save money, school districts should fire their janitors and have the students clean their schools. Unfortunately, when someone makes a comment like this, it usually implies that anyone can clean — even young children — and that cleaning is not all that important. [More]

Candidly, we do not believe in saving money by eliminating janitors. [More]

The Washoe County School District (WCSD) in Reno, Nev., the 127th largest school district in the country, with almost 68,000 students and 9,000 staff, is one of an elite few districts in the country to have achieved ISO 9001 certification, thanks in large part to the successful implementation of a program now known as Process Cleaning for Healthy Schools (PCHS). As word about the program has spread, other schools are getting involved. [More]

Many U.S. schools are beginning the new school year with deeper cuts in their budgets than in previous years, according to the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) report, “Surviving a Thousand Cuts: America’s Public Schools and the Recession.” [More]

At Washoe County School District, where PCHS got started, the daily average attendance record has risen by a remarkable six-and-a-half percent! [More]

We are all well aware of outdoor pollution. Few people realize, however, that indoor pollution can be just as hazardous to the health as outdoor pollution. Schools and universities should assess campus indoor air quality and take steps to ensure that the health of students and faculty are not being put at risk. [More]

The non-profit Process Cleaning for Healthy Schools (PCHS) Consortium is officially supporting the promotion and distribution of the book, "Clean and Healthy Schools for Dummies" by Dr. David Mudarri, a publishing collaboration by the IEHA, Healthy Schools Campaign and Wiley & Sons Publishing. [More]

Before implementing PCHS, custodians at the different schools in Douglas County were doing things their own way — there was no standard process or system put in place regarding how to clean a classroom or restroom. Since standardizing the school district’s cleaning processes and systems, Blumenthal says they have raised standards, cut budget and reduced absenteeism. [More]