{"id":4026,"date":"2026-08-17T21:14:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T21:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026"},"modified":"2026-08-17T21:14:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T21:14:47","slug":"kensington-high-school-teachers-brace-for-a-challenging-year-amid-asbestos-remediation-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026","title":{"rendered":"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div><audio><\/audio><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Summer break ended Monday for 9,000 Philadelphia School District teachers, counselors, nurses, and other school staff.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4024\">Avalon will allow outdoor live music one hour later at Gully\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But instead of heading back to their own building, 90 Kensington High educators and support staff were rerouted to a school more than seven miles away \u2014 the former Austin Meehan Middle School in the Northeast \u2014 because of concerns over an HVAC project that led to damaged asbestos in the Kensington facility.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Staff and students are expected to remain at Meehan for the rest of the calendar year while an asbestos remediation project is completed.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Philadelphia Federation of Teachers officials expressed frustration Monday over the way the district initially handled the project, the inconvenience to staff and students, and the potential for further complications.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cPeople are angry,\u201d said Arthur Steinberg, PFT president. \u201cThey\u2019re upset.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>PFT staff were on hand at Meehan Monday, he said, answering staff questions: \u201cUnfortunately for the staff and kids and the community, it\u2019s going to be a chaotic year.\u201d <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>\u2018It did not get followed\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The Kensington closure comes a year after the district was criminally charged over its past handling of asbestos management at city schools. After a yearslong secret probe, the school board signed off in June 2025 on a deferred prosecution agreement that comes with strict federal scrutiny of its environmental management.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Philadelphia was the first school district in the U.S. that faced criminal charges for environmental violations.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Steinberg and Jerry Roseman, the PFT\u2019s longtime director of environmental science, said at a news conference Monday that the trouble traced back to mid July. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Workers were installing a new heating and cooling system at Kensington, a 100-year-old school on East Cumberland Street, when a contractor inadvertently disturbed some asbestos.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The asbestos was then removed \u201cin a non-regulated way by someone who\u2019s not certified to remove asbestos,\u201d Steinberg said. \u201cThey then traipsed it all over the building.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Steinberg said the district initially told the PFT the damage was limited and could be completed in time for teachers to return to Kensington High by Monday. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe thought that was unrealistic all along, and insisted that certain protocols be put in place before they decide to open,\u201d Steinberg said. \u201cLo and behold, we get to maybe the end of last week. Guess what? It\u2019s not going to open, you know, they don\u2019t have time to abate the asbestos properly, clean it, test the air and then complete the renovation that was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The district has agreed to remove all remaining asbestos inside the Kensington building, and developed a remediation plan in conjunction with Roseman, the PFT\u2019s environmental expert, Steinberg said. It\u2019s also agreed to additional environmental oversight.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4022\">Villanova ranked No. 7 in preseason FCS coaches poll. Montana State at the top.<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIn light of the publicity that they\u2019ve received, they agreed to remove it all, which means it will be safer when folks go back in,\u201d Steinberg said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Asbestos, commonly used in building projects for most of the 20th century, is considered safe when undisturbed. But when it\u2019s damaged, asbestos can be toxic, releasing microscopic fibers that may cause lung disease and cancer. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Steinberg and Roseman said the Kensington mishap underscores an ongoing problem: The district has a vast stock of aging buildings, many of which have environmental issues.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere was a plan\u201d to deal with known areas of asbestos, Roseman said, and \u201cit did not get followed. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>A lack of proper oversight and management \u201cis an ongoing problem,\u201d Roseman said, \u201cand as the [district\u2019s $3 billion facilities master plan] gets put in place, this is one of our concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>\u2018A disruption for everybody\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Jos\u00e9 Lebr\u00f3n, Kensington\u2019s veteran principal, said in a letter sent to families this weekend that school and district staff have been \u201cworking around the clock to create a safe, vibrant, and welcoming space where our students can thrive from day one.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Meehan is a closed district building often used to house school communities that need a temporary home.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Necessary educational materials are being brought from Kensington to Meehan, officials said, and when school opens next Monday, the district will provide shuttle service to Meehan.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>For staff who had expected to drive to work in Kensington, commuting to the Northeast creates challenges for some around childcare, public transit, and commute times, Steinberg said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cMake no mistake about it, it\u2019s a disruption for everybody,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not an ideal situation, to say the least.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Oz Hill, the district\u2019s deputy superintendent for operations, said in a letter to Kensington staff and families that \u201cother options closer to Kensington were considered, but did not meet the space or accessibility needs for Kensington\u2019s more than 400 students and 90 staff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4020\">Wawa\u2019s new Phanatic smoothie tastes like a \u2018World Series win with a sprinkling of Mets tears\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lack of proper oversight and management \u201cis an ongoing problem,\u201d the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers&#8217; longtime environmental expert said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures - Corporate Movers USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures - Corporate Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A lack of proper oversight and management \u201cis an ongoing problem,\u201d the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers&#039; longtime environmental expert said.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Corporate Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-17T21:14:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626\"},\"headline\":\"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-17T21:14:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026\"},\"wordCount\":827,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/795fdfa5a927bcc4cbad85753dd87242.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026\",\"name\":\"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures - Corporate Movers USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/795fdfa5a927bcc4cbad85753dd87242.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-17T21:14:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/795fdfa5a927bcc4cbad85753dd87242.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/795fdfa5a927bcc4cbad85753dd87242.avif\",\"width\":760,\"height\":507},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=4026#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Corporate Movers USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures - Corporate Movers USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures - Corporate Movers USA","og_description":"A lack of proper oversight and management \u201cis an ongoing problem,\u201d the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers' longtime environmental expert said.","og_url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026","og_site_name":"Corporate Movers USA","article_published_time":"2026-08-17T21:14:47+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626"},"headline":"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures","datePublished":"2026-08-17T21:14:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026"},"wordCount":827,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/795fdfa5a927bcc4cbad85753dd87242.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026","url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026","name":"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures - Corporate Movers USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/795fdfa5a927bcc4cbad85753dd87242.avif","datePublished":"2026-08-17T21:14:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/795fdfa5a927bcc4cbad85753dd87242.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/795fdfa5a927bcc4cbad85753dd87242.avif","width":760,"height":507},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=4026#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kensington High School teachers brace for a challenging year amid asbestos remediation measures"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/","name":"Corporate Movers USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}