While the pandemic brought indoor air quality (IAQ) to the forefront, the fight to improve IAQ in schools continues. Long after the pandemic has fallen to the back of mind, this issue is still important. Research has shown that poor IAQ can greatly affect student performance and attendance. Improved IAQ has improved addition skills, number comparison, reading comprehension, and more.
Additionally, improved IAQ can reduce absenteeism due to diseases such as asthma. These have caused an estimated 13.8 million lost school days in children between the ages of five and 17. It’s also believed that children are more susceptible to environmental exposures than adults. They breathe more air, eat more food, and drink more liquid in proportion to their body weight than adults, which makes indoor air quality in schools a concern.
As the EPA indicates, proper maintenance of indoor air in schools is about more than just quality; it’s about safety and an investment in students, staff, and facilities. That’s why the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council has developed a school district indoor air quality management plan.
We’ll let the USGBC explain what’s in it:
This toolkit walks through each component of an IAQ management plan, covering a wide range of topics, from building inspections and IAQ monitoring to chemical management and staff training. Each section of the toolkit provides example plan language derived from existing school district plans and resources from the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Action Kit from the Environmental Protection Agency, while also showcasing additional resources and case studies from school districts.
Furthermore, at a link in the toolkit, users can download an IAQ management plan template, which consolidates all example language into an easily editable document, enabling school staff to customize an IAQ plan tailored to their district’s needs.
Download the Indoor Air Quality Management Plan Toolkit for Schools
Who is the U.S. Green Building Council and the Center for Green Schools?
They are a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting prosperous, healthy, and resilient communities. The idea behind their mission is to transform the way buildings and communities both are designed, built, and operated in order to advance human and environmental wellbeing. The Center for Green Schools operates with the belief that students deserve to attend sustainable schools that enhance their health and wellness, prepare them for green careers, and support a thriving planet. Part of that mission centers around indoor air quality and the impact it can have on an education facility.
Where Synexis Comes In to Help IAQ in Schools
As a leader in indoor air and surface purification, Synexis is a key cog a proper IAQ Management Plan Toolkit. With devices that can work in any environment, Synexis and its patented Dry Hydrogen Peroxide (DHP®) offer a solution that can help to clean both air and surfaces and keep students, faculty, and everyone else within a school setting breathing better air. Throughout the Toolkit linked above, there are indoor air pollutants listed that Synexis has a proven track record against.
Connect with a Synexis representative today to learn how our indoor air quality devices can impact your educational needs and help check off the boxes from the new IAQ for Schools Toolkit.
