Modern schools paint healthy picture

When you think of your children’s safety in school, you probably think of reckless drivers, junk food and sudden seasonal downpours. Something you should add to this list: dirty walls.

It may not sound too threatening but dirty walls are real health hazards. A study by Japanese scientists found that many walls in the home, especially kitchens and bathrooms, are covered with unhealthy, disease causing bacteria. Another study in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research found high occurrence of bacteria in high traffic public areas, especially children play areas. Such bacteria can double in number every 20 minutes under the right conditions, covering a whole wall with pathogenic bacteria that can infect someone who touches the wall. Particularly at risk are children, due to their heightened sense of curiosity and increased physical interaction with their environment. This is why progressive pre-schools have implemented a program using a groundbreaking indoor paint that prevents bacterial growth on walls.

Boysen Healthy Home paint is a premium, low-odor, low VOC (volatile organic content) paint that’s infused with Microban, the world’s leading anti-bacterial brand. Microban, which is used in numerous medical, industrial and consumer products worldwide, has a long history of effective and safe use and is registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This makes it deadly for contact with bacteria while keeping it perfectly safe for contact with children. The addition of Microban transforms Boysen Healthy Home into a new concept of hygienic coating – one that reduces the risk of bacterial transmission from infected surfaces to food and humans.

Prism Pre-Schools

A non-profit, non-traditional primary school that caters to underprivileged children, Prism (People’s Reform Initiative for Social Mobilization Foundation, Inc.) is the first school in the country to use hygienic coatings on its walls. Founded by prominent educators who wanted to reform the educational system beginning at the primary level, Prism has successfully established its new teaching techniques in twenty primary schools all over Luzon.

Maintaining good hygiene standards is a special concern for Prism, says Dwight Penson, Prism’s Founding Chairman, since “varied kinds of children from varied kinds of communities occupy (its) classrooms.”

Domuschola Internationalis

Following Prism’s lead are the first private schools to use paint to provide an extra line of defense for children against bacteria. Owned by basketball coach Joel Banal, Domuschola Internationalis, an elementary school, and Second Mom, a pre-school, have incorporated into their learning systems the benefits of Healthy Home paints. With their classrooms painted red, and corridors green and yellow, Domuschola and Second Mom hope to provide a safer environment for young students of all nationalities.