GILROY
– One student’s life-threatening allergy to latex provided an
educational experience for hundreds of students attending Antonio
Del Buono Elementary School over the past few years.
GILROY – One student’s life-threatening allergy to latex provided an educational experience for hundreds of students attending Antonio Del Buono Elementary School over the past few years.
Students learned their classmate could not be in the same room as balloons, lest one pop and release latex proteins that could cause her to stop breathing within three minutes.
Next year will be a whole new learning experience for hundreds of students, parents and numerous teachers and administrators as the girl moves to the sixth grade at Ascencion Solorsano Middle School.
Middle school is a new logistical ball game. While in previous years, the girl remained in one classroom with 30 other children most of the day, Solorsano Principal Sal Tomasello says next year she could be in eight different buildings in a given day.
Some parents, after receiving a flier about Solorsano’s latex free-environment, were taken aback by the list of prohibited items and even fearful for the girl’s safety.
Kathy Carrera, a parent who will have two children attending Solorsano next year, said she was outraged when she first read the information. She wasn’t sure she was prepared to send her children to school without Band-Aids or refuse to let them bring bananas in their lunches. Both those items contain natural latex that, if the girl touches, swallows or breathes in, could send her into anaphylactic shock – a rapid pulse, low blood pressure, dizziness and difficulty breathing – at which point she has a three-minute window between life and death.
After contacting Tammy Gabel, Del Buono principal, she said she felt “somewhat better” about the situation.
“I guess what the main thing is, is it might have been easy for the schools to do this while she was in elementary, in one room … but now it’s going to affect a few classrooms,” Carrera said.
That’s precisely what Sal Tomasello and others are working on.
Although most Del Buono students and parents were well-educated as to her needs, now that process must begin for 455 middle school students from as many as eight different schools. Plus, 360 Eliot elementary students are at the campus, although their classrooms are in separate buildings.
The school district already has started educating parents on the issues surrounding the 11-year-old’s medical condition: In a flier mailed out two weeks ago, a school nurse briefly described the severity of the latex allergy and provided a list of items that may not be sent to school, including stickers, rubber bands and nuts.
Public school districts are required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to accommodate students with special needs and make the entire school campus a safe place for those with environmental allergies. Schools must include those students in regular classrooms, whenever possible.
Tomasello has met with the student and her family several times and plans to continue sending communications to parents and will hold an assembly at the beginning of the year. Educating parents and students is key to the girl’s safety.
“Of course … the school knows, but it’s what the children could bring into the school,” said the girl’s mother. “And because you’re dealing with so many more children that don’t know her situation because they’re pulling them from every school, that definitely is a concern for us.”
If the student comes into contact with natural latex particles – by touching, swallowing or breathing them – she quickly goes into shock. She has a three-minute window between life and death. Gilroy Unified School District provides a medical aide who is with her throughout the school day.
“The facility itself, when the school was built, was latex-free so there’s no glue in the wallpaper, no glue in the carpet, in the paint,” Tomasello said.
Science lab and physical education equipment, however, could pose a problem.
“As a teacher, I would be worried having to watch all the students, making sure one didn’t bring a balloon,” Carrera said. “I understand her rights, you know, but I’m also trying to understand our child’s rights, too, to have as much education as they’re getting without having to do a bunch of extra things.”
Gabel, on vacation last week, said via e-mail that, while the list of prohibited items can appear daunting initially, it eventually became a matter of routine at the school.
“Several times last year, there were times when (the student) could have come into contact with something hazardous to her, but staff was vigilant and were successful in ensuring that didn’t occur,” Gabel said.
“We obviously have to meet with her teachers to make sure they are educated, but we really have to educate everybody over the summer,” Tomasello said.
The school will continue to talk about the latex-free environment throughout the year because the student, although her allergy affects others, is entitled to “the least restrictive education,” her mother says.
“It’s going to be a whole new process and a whole new adventure,” she said.
Still, Carrera expressed what could be on many parents’ minds when they first learn how one girl’s allergy will affect their children.
“It’s just really, really different,” she said.
For more information, contact Ascencion Solorsano Principal Sal Tomasello or a school nurse at 848-4121. Contact Antonio Del Buono at 848-5161.
Latex items prohibited
Items prohibited from the Ascencion Solorsano Middle School campus because they may contain latex:
Balloons
Rubber bands
Erasers (erasers and pencils made in U.S. are OK)
Stickers
“Ziploc” brand
re-sealable bags
Band-Aids (the school has latex-free bandages)
Food items:
bananas
kiwis
avocados
pitted fruits – cherries, peaches, plums, etc.
all nuts – including candy products
Source: GUSD
