Career Day at Dallas ISD’s Maple Lawn Elementary

4/20/2017 (Permalink)

4th Grade Teacher at Dallas ISD's Maple Lawn Elementary Trying Out Personal Protective Equipment.

We had a blast with the Rockets during College and Career Day at Maple Lawn Elementary in Dallas, Texas. SERVPRO of North Irving spent the morning talking to the school’s 4th grade classes about the types of experiences SERVPRO technicians experience in the field.

“We talked about fire and water damages and what might cause each of those,” explained Michael Weaver, owner of SERVPRO of North Irving.  “The kids talked about natural disasters causing water damages, including tsunamis in Asia. I was really impressed with their depth of knowledge.”

Since our office also has a Texas Mold Remediation Contractor license and we are certified to perform mold remediation, that topic was brought up, too.  “Mold is that stuff on old cheese,” one student said.

“And the pizza my brother once left in his room for a week,” another added.

They’re both right!  When the students realized that mold could also grow on walls and shoes, they were surprised.

“Everyone had seen mold on cheese, but seeing pictures of dangerous levels of mold was an eye opener for many of the kids,” Weaver explained.  “We wanted to explain the necessity of having proper safety precautions with everything we do in our line of work.”

When we took out some personal protective equipment and asked for volunteers to put it on, a lot of hands went up--including the teacher’s.  As the students giggled when their teacher put on a full kit, other student volunteers also put on smaller pieces of the equipment. With cries of Fight the Mold! and Ghostbusters! everyone was ready to go to work.

Students learned about full body Tyvek suits, nitrile gloves, full face respirators, and even how to use a HEPA vacuum.  The grand finale was learning about ATP testing, which our office uses to test for contamination levels on various surfaces.  

“We asked the class which surface they thought was the dirtiest.  Every group got one guess and the one with the highest number won.”

The winner?  The classroom door’s handle with an ATP score of over 1,000!

“The passing score is 10 or less,” Weaver smiled.  “Everyone was kind of shocked, but they understand why something that is touched by almost everyone every day could get so dirty.”

Of course, the handle was cleaned immediately.  

“Ultimately, we just wanted to remind the kids to stay safe,” said Michael. “It was a really fun day for us, and we hope to be invited back.”

“The Weavers are amazing to volunteer their time and talents to come to speak to our students on College and Career Day,” said Stacy Owens, Counselor at Maple Lawn and the organizer of the event.  “They are passionate advocates for SERVPRO and their integrity is evident. I would trust them with any clean-up that I may need in the future.”

Trusted Leader in Water Damage Restoration and Fire Damage Restoration in Dallas Texas

SERVPRO is a water damage restoration and fire and smoke damage restoration company in Dallas, Texas. With our crews responding immediately to jobs, we are faster to any size disaster. We also have a Texas Mold Remediation Contractor License and offer free mold inspections. You can trust us to restore your home or business.

Our crews are available dispatch for 24-hour emergencies every day of the year. We can be reached 24/7 at (972) 986-7677.  Call us any time!

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