Douglasville Elementary School Gets High Marks for Hand Washing

It turns out students at a Douglasville elementary school don’t have to be told to wash up for dinner, nor any other time it’s needed to prevent the spread of germs.

Dorsett Elementary School has been nationally recognized for its awareness program aimed at making the simple task of hand washing fun and educational.

"2 Thumbs Up for Healthy Hands," in which all of the school’s 423 students participated, was recently honored by the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The school will receive $5,000 and hand-washing products that support hand hygiene.

According to a press release, the school earned the national award for the variety of activities planned this year.

Hand-washing posters were made by the school’s Art Club. Fifth-graders read to kindergarteners and first-graders about washing with soap and water. The school’s physical education teacher, Nick Epstein, led a school-wide assembly about hand hygiene – all part of the "2 Thumbs Up for Healthy Hands" program.

Students from nearby Alexander High School came by to help run four learning stations that taught different lessons on the importance of handwashing, including a "glow in the dark" station that enabled students to see how many germs were left on their hands after washing with soap and water.

The award was given as part of the “Healthy Schools, Healthy People, It’s a SNAP” program – SNAP stands for School Network for Absenteeism Prevention. The program was established in 2003 to help improve hand hygiene habits to help prevent the spread of infectious disease and reduce school absenteeism.

"CDC gives Dorsett Shoals Elementary two thumbs up for their school-wide campaign to keep hands clean and kids healthy," Dr. Anna Bowen, a medical epidemiologist at CDC, said in a press release. "We know that when kids learn handwashing in school, they also bring that knowledge home to their parents and siblings, so it helps the whole community."