Students must choose: isolation or ailments

Last August, Joey Peterson and Kimberly Woodbury were hoping for a trouble-free year at Burlington High School, with none of the headaches, dizzy spells, and nausea that had made attending school in Burlington such a nightmare in previous years.

But a few weeks into the year, their maladies returned and their parents found themselves again facing a frustrating reality: Their children would have to be pulled out of the high school.

So instead of a classroom with students and teachers, Joey and Kimberly are being educated by tutors, provided by the district, who teach them at their homes or inside a small cubicle at the town library.

''It's not how I wanted my year to turn out," said Kimberly, 17, a senior. ''I miss school. I miss my friends. I miss being in class. It's awful."

This is not the first time the two have had health problems inside Burlington schools.

Joey, 14, who is in his freshman year, suffered similar ailments during the three years he was a student at Marshall Simonds Middle School. Kimberly suffered problems during her freshman and sophomore years at Burlington High. Her parents pulled her from school during her sophomore year. She attended a private school as a junior.

Their plight has revived long-held suspicions that the air in Burlington schools may be contributing to the children's health problems.

''It's deja vu," said Diane Peterson. ''All we want is for our kids to be able to get a normal education. This is not normal."

Earlier this month, staff from the state Department of Public Health's Bureau of Environmental Assessment inspected the school's ventilation system and measured carbon dioxide levels, temperature, and evidence of water damage. The results are expected in several weeks, said Donna Rheaume, a DPH spokeswoman.

The Petersons and Woodburys are hoping that the tests will shed some light on what makes their children ill.

''My dream is that they will find out whatever it is that is causing our kids to get sick and be able to eliminate it from the environment," said Kimberly's mother, Lois Woodbury.

School officials declined to comment on the two cases. Assistant Superintendent Craig Robinson said the district is awaiting the DPH test results.

A physician who has treated both youths recommended that they be tutored outside the school building until the test results are in.

''Based on their history of illnesses and the fact that they become ill while in school, I recommended that they not go to school and be tutored at home," said Dr. Megan Sandel of Children's Hospital's Pediatric Environmental Health Center.

Air quality concerns have been a recurrent issue in Burlington, not only at the high school but also at the Memorial Elementary School and the Marshall Simonds. School district and state officials have responded.

A DPH inspection of the high school in 1997 found problems ranging from damp ceiling tiles and mold to high carbon dioxide levels. The town subsequently appropriated about $1.5 million to fix leaky roofs, repair the ventilation system, and replace damaged ceiling tiles and carpeting.

But despite assurances from school officials that the problems have been resolved, Kimberly began experiencing health problems after enrolling at the high school as a freshman in 2003. Already diagnosed with asthma and allergies, she seemed to suffer worse symptoms when she went to school, according to her parents. After consulting a physician, the Woodburys withdrew their daughter from the school during her sophomore year and made arrangements with the district for tutoring.

Last year they enrolled her at Gann Academy, a private school in Waltham.

But this year, with Kimberly pleading to return to high school, the Woodburys enrolled her there for her senior year.

''I knew it was going to be a risk," Kimberly said. ''But it was my senior year and I wanted to graduate with my class, and the friends I grew up with."

But problems -- headaches, wheezing, and coughing -- resurfaced in September. Her parents pulled her out of school on Oct. 17. ''It's been very frustrating and stressful," said Lois Woodbury.

Kimberly Woodbury carries a full load of classes -- literature, physics, math, sociology, and psychology. She has three different tutors who spend 12 hours a week on average teaching her. She said she misses the social environment and school activities.

''Being taught in isolation like this is not the same thing as learning in a classroom," she said. ''I have no interaction with anyone besides my tutors. Luckily, I have a job at night at a restaurant. If I didn't have that, I'd go stir crazy."

Joey Peterson was also upbeat about the new school year, despite his past problems at the Marshall Simonds. His three years at the middle school were marked by recurring headaches, stomach pain, dizziness, and burning eyes. The Petersons pulled Joey from the school for parts of each year and had him taught by a tutor.

Diane Peterson said she and her husband hoped for a different experience at the high school but were greatly disappointed when maladies returned only weeks into the new school year.

''It was starting up all over again," said Diane Peterson, who kept a journal in which she has recorded Joey's ailments and his visits to the school nurse. On Sept. 16, the Petersons removed their son from the school.

''By that time, Joey was sick every day," said Diane Peterson. ''He had migraines, dizziness, and he couldn't breathe well. The school nurse called me on the 16th. When I went to pick him up, he was so dizzy he fell out of a chair."

The Peterson's problems this year were made worse because another one of the their children, Jill, 16, had also begun to suffer severe health ailments inside the high school. The family removed her from the school on Nov. 1.

Both Peterson children are now tutored.

Joey, who is cheerful, despite having to leave school only weeks after the year began, said, ''I hope they can find what it is and fix it. I'd rather be in school."