Rita Casper, director of nursing for Andover Public Schools, explained some of the measures and school policies put in place in recent years to deal with the increased number of severe allergy cases:
r Severe allergies are more common in elementary schools.
r There is at least one student with severe allergies at every school in Andover and there is an allergy-free table in the cafeteria of every school. "There is no policy that says a student must sit there," Casper said. "We leave it up to parents. We don't want to single people out, but there has to be a delicate balance. We provide an allergy-free space if they choose to use it. At some point, you have a plan (as a parent) to transition from teachers and parents making decisions for the child to the students (doing it) themselves. It's my duty to say to parents, 'Let's look at the plan ahead.'"
r Every teacher in the district is trained about severe allergies at the beginning of the school year.
r There is a nurse and an epi pen in every school in town. In some cases, epi pens are also kept in classrooms with students with severe allergies, but the nurse should be the one to administer it, said Casper.
If the class is outside of school, such as on a field trip, certain teachers have undergone in-depth training in using an epi pen and are allowed to administer it, if needed.
r Teachers are discouraged from using food products as part of lessons, such as pasta in an art project or jelly beans for a counting.
r Parents are discouraged from bringing in birthday cakes and cupcakes. Allergy-free alternatives include having the birthday child wear a crown, bring in pencils or stickers, or get a pass from doing homework on their birthday.
