Dr. Mike Merchant educates one of our school IPM coordinator classes about the importance of the kitchen inspection.

For Texas Public Schools, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been around for over twenty years. And for 20 years Texas A&M AgriLife Extension has been the leader in offering educational programs to assist school IPM coordinators and their school districts have award winning school IPM and IAQ programs. While Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 4, Part 1, Chapter 7, Subchapter H, Division 7 School IPM Rules require that every ISD appoint and train a school IPM coordinator, we realize that more than 6 hours of training is what is needed to have a superior school IPM program. Our program has in-person trainings for required School IPM Coordinator training, Advanced School IPM (refresher CEUs), pest management training courses, and soon online training modules to help when time is tight.

Day One – Required New Coordinator Training

This course is for any school personnel who need to learn about what is required for a school IPM program under the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 4, Part 1, Chapter 7, Subchapter H, Division 7 School IPM Rules.  This class fulfills Texas state requirements for new IPM Coordinators who need the six-hour class to be classified as the designated IPM coordinator.  At the same time, this class fulfills the requirements for the three-year recertification (refresher course), an introduction to office staff or other school administration in how to adopt and manage an IPM program, and for pest management professionals this course will allow you to understand what is required by the Texas Department of Agriculture Structural Pest Control Service rules. The course will cover legal requirements for schools, an introduction to IPM, how to monitor your schools under TDA requirements, and a hands-on exercise to understand the difference between Green, Yellow and Red Category pesticides.

Day Two – Advanced Coordinator Training

This course is for School IPM Coordinators who need a 6-hour refresher course or anyone licensed by TDA in the Structural Pest Control Categories, TDA Landscape Management, and Private applicators who want to learn about IPM and obtain 6 hours of CEU credit. This course is aimed to provided additional information on how to manage and sustain an IPM program.  Topics are aimed at school IPM coordinators in general; however, many of the topics aren’t just limited to schools.  For 2017, this course covers the Ag Science/Garden programs many schools face, the pests they encounter and what the rules are associated with these programs.  This course is also covering rodent management, with some additional information on rodenticides use on school property. Dr. Merchant will cover cockroach control as well, learn what works best for the most common cockroaches in Texas.

IPM Experience House Trainings

Our IPM Experience House is a former dormitory building that has been converted into a series of small, rooms that simulate actual work sites–ideal settings for hands-on training. We have attempted to design IPM House to provide a realistic, controlled environment where it is safe to practice the skills and craft of IPM.  Courses use a mix of classroom and field training to provide new and experienced PMPs with the skills they need to excel in their profession.  These classes are designed to assist new apprentices, technicians, and non-commercial applicators understand their role in the IPM process but also how to control pests using IPM techniques and practices.

Dr. Don Renchie educates class participants about the Texas School IPM rules

Educational training for school staff (In-service modules)

Training of school staff about IPM is time consuming and AgriLife Extension realizes that you don’t have time to develop your own powerpoint to conduct training.  Over the past couple of years, we have been working with University of Arizona and the IPM Institute of North America to develop training materials that can be used by IPM program administrators (anywhere) to deliver in-house training for school staff.  Of the 18 Stop School Pests modules on this website  all are designed to allow you the end user to either view the module on your PC/tablet/phone or download and use in person to train a group of custodians, maintenance or grounds workers, or food service personnel.

Online Training for CEU Credit

In 2018, we plan to launch interactive online modules that earn you CEU credit.  These courses will help you learn about school IPM, general household pests, and other information that you can learn on your own time and pace.  In the meantime, you can check out this website for some of our educational courses you can use for more information.

To register for one of our in-person courses visit our conference services website at https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/   Keyword:  IPM or call 979-845-2604

2017 Fall School IPM Coordinator Training Schedule Two-Day Courses

Instructors Day 1: Dr. Don Renchie, Dr. Mike Merchant, and Ms. Janet Hurley
Instructors Day 2: Dr. Mike Merchant, and Ms. Janet Hurley

2017 Fall School IPM Coordinator Trainings One Day

Instructor: Janet Hurley