{"id":13242,"date":"2022-09-01T17:37:47","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T17:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/?post_type=articles&p=13242"},"modified":"2022-10-05T17:37:58","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T17:37:58","slug":"new-report-shows-urgent-need-to-support-school-districts-in-maintaining-safe-and-healthy-indoor-air-quality","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/new-report-shows-urgent-need-to-support-school-districts-in-maintaining-safe-and-healthy-indoor-air-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"New Report Shows Urgent Need to Support School Districts in Maintaining Safe and Healthy Indoor Air Quality"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Center for Green Schools at the USGBC recently released a new report detailing how school districts around the country have continued to manage air quality within their schools during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, Managing Air Quality in the Pandemic: How K\u201312 Schools Addressed Air Quality in the Second Year of COVID-19<\/em>, builds on an April 2021 report, Preparation in the Pandemic: How Schools Implemented Air Quality Measures to Protect Occupants from COVID-19<\/em>, which was the first and only known national survey of on-the-ground implementation of indoor air quality (IAQ) improvements at schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The new report highlights the urgent need to better support school districts with implementation of airborne infection control strategies to support mitigation of the immediate COVID-19 threat, as well as future pandemics and seasonal epidemics, and to improve overall indoor air quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaintaining good indoor air quality is vital to support the health and wellness of students and faculty,\u201d said Anisa Heming, Director for the Center for Green Schools. \u201cSchool districts recognize that proper ventilation is critical to curbing the spread of airborne diseases like COVID-19. However, more than 2 years into the pandemic, they still need support to find the right strategies and resources to make the necessary changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report shows that schools prioritized increasing outdoor air intake by whatever means were available to them and reflects on how the pandemic and schools\u2019 responses to it have evolved. Importantly for national advocates, the survey responses indicate that school districts in different locales (urban versus non-urban) are seeking guidance from different types of sources.<\/p>\n

Widespread education of school system administrators and staff is needed to ensure awareness of both the widely agreed-upon IAQ recommendations and the availability of federal COVID-19 relief funds for IAQ measures. To support schools, the White House\u2019s updated COVID-19 strategies includes a focus on indoor air quality in schools, with the federal government investing millions to help schools improve ventilation as way to curb the spread of the virus and avoid shutdowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudies have shown a direct link between indoor air quality in schools and student performance and attendance,\u201d said 2021\u201322 ASHRAE President Mick Schwedler, PE, Fellow ASHRAE, LEED AP. \u201cThis study further underscores the importance of not only providing technical guidance for improving indoor air quality, but the need for practical implementation strategies. We trust that the findings in this report will lead to more knowledge sharing, expanded partnerships and greater investments to improve indoor air quality and decarbonize our schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Center for Green Schools report, which was co-authored with researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and developed with technical support from ASHRAE, illuminates strategies and challenges from school districts that serve over
\n2.6 million students in more than 4,000 schools. Among major findings:<\/p>\n