CHO Leadership Academy (April 2025)

The Chemical Hygiene Officer Leadership Academy is a 10-week intensive, mentorship-based collaborative readiness program for Chemical Hygiene Officers led by science and STEM safety experts and peers who deliver proven frameworks and insights on how to lead as your school’s Chemical Hygiene Officer – protecting students as well as reducing your school’s liability. This program coaches participants on what it means to think and act as a CHO leader.

Academy Model: Instructor-led + Self-paced.

Duration: Starts Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Meets once a week for ten weeks. 10 hours + self-guided tasks.  (Starts Tuesday, April 15th, and Ends Tuesday, June 17.  Scheduled for 10am – 11am ET).

Intended Audience: Recommended for current Chemical Hygiene Officers and those interested in moving into this role.

Instructor: This program is led by an NRCC-credentialed instructor with 10+ years experience in K-12 school systems.

Upcoming Cohort Dates:
September 16, 2025, (10-week course)
January 6, 2026 (10-week course)
April 7, 2026 (10-week course)

By attending this Academy, you will learn:

• Responsible chemical management, including chemical storage, chemical handling, chemical disposal, fire safety, emergency procedures, PPE, ventilation, safety documentation, and related safety criteria.
• How to build a school-wide and district-wide culture of safety awareness based on appropriate (grade and subject-area) safety training on an ongoing basis.
• Hazard and risk recognition and mitigation strategies for emergency procedures and proactive planning for safer demonstrations and laboratory activities.
• Lab safety rules based on legal safety standards including OSHA 1910.1450; 1910.1200; 1910.132; NFPA 101; NFPA 45; ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 D3 2020 and other accepted professional safety practices involving laboratory use.
• How to effectively manage a chemical spill, a fire, chemical combinations, waste management (chemical and biological), and the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP).
• Safer prevention strategies to reduce potential legal liability under ‘Duty of Care’ obligations
• How other CHOs and Facilities Directors have handled various scenarios in their school jurisdictions over time and used these as ‘teachable’ moments to elevate the understanding of science educators in order to prevent a similar accident from occurring in the future.