Richard Pressinger's pitch to parents is simple: build a school free of harmful chemicals and fragrances and watch how much more a child can learn -- and with fewer sick days, too.

The former certified educator spent the summer renovating his 20-by-20 foot garage to open "The Natural School," where lunches will be organic, pesticides forbidden and even the art supplies unscented.

Now, all he needs are the students.

"You don't want these sorts of chemicals to prevent kids from reaching their maximum potential," he said. "There's a need for this, and I know there are parents who are interested in the neurological well-being of their children."

If it opens, the private school would be one of a handful nationwide with strict environmental guidelines. Bills to ban fragrances from schools were introduced in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Minnesota but never made it to the floor. Pressinger's hoping his initiative will grab North Carolina's attention.

Pressinger, 54, sees the effect the environment has on himself and his four children. He used to live by a golf course and suffered from liver and immune problems that disappeared when he moved, he said. Two of his kids attend Creekside Elementary in Durham, and one is currently home-schooled. His fourth child with his wife, Susan, who will cook meals at the school, is 10 months old.

With more than two decades of teaching experience, including extensive work with special-needs students, Pressinger will be the primary teacher at the K-6 school, which will initially enroll up to eight students. He has spent the past decade touting his originally developed literacy curriculum, where it is currently used in school districts in Florida and Oklahoma. The school will also use this program for instruction.

Pressinger lives near The Streets at Southpoint. He originally wanted to open a space in Chapel Hill, where he said people might be more interested in the idea. But overhauling his own garage was cheaper. He wants to keep tuition low, around $500 a month.

The new classroom has pressed bamboo floors and organic cotton curtains. The walls and ceiling are coated with chemical-free, low-allergen paint.

"You don't think about it, but maybe the disinfectants or another chemical in the house could be the reason why my child gets asthma attacks," he said. "There's real research behind this."

A number of studies have looked at the relationship between pollutants in the air and academic performance. Even more have suggested the rise in pesticides and other chemicals found in common cleaners has led to an increase in the appearance of asthma and learning disabilities.

Pressinger knows about all of this research. But there hasn't been a study widespread enough to show that all schools should follow Pressinger's natural school model, medical experts said.

"The bottom line is on an individual basis, it might make a lot of sense, but I don't think there's enough information now where we can, on a widespread basis, show that failure to build buildings to quite these standards immediately represents a public health risk," said Dr. David Peden, director of the Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Lung Biology at UNC.

Peden agreed that there are plenty of people for which a change in environment could make a huge impact, however.

But school officials are watching. Stephanie Willis, the health coordinator at Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, where there's no official policy on fragrances, said she hears from parents and teachers each year with concerns about odors. Some teachers, she said, lose their voice or get headaches because of the strong perfumes and bathroom deodorizers.

But, Willis said, there's still more that could be done.

"This is actually a problem for more people than we realize," she said.

For now, Pressinger's continuing to spruce up his garage and hoping that concerned parents sign on. He has a permit from the City of Durham to operate a school with up to eight children. The school will fall under the state's Division of Non-Public Education. Eventually, he'd like to see The Natural School become a charter.

"It's possible that people might think I'm crazy or being extreme, but I just don't think there's enough awareness out there," Pressinger said. "These things you don't think about matter."