Improving Indoor Air Quality: ‘One of the Most Important Things a School District Can Do’
December 22, 2010 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign
by Lindsay Muscato, Writer/Communications Specialist
On the EPA's blog, school superintendent and healthy schools advocate Richard Middleton writes about the importance of improving indoor air quality (IAQ). It's an often-overlooked way to increase student and teacher wellness, he says — and steps don't have to be complicated. In his district, North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas, simply reducing clutter and eliminating carpets made a real difference:
“We had cluttered classrooms and storage areas full of items that were just collecting dust. It was so bad that our cleaning crews couldn’t even navigate through the classrooms around the clutter to properly clean! By simply eliminating the clutter and removing carpeting in classrooms and hallways and following EPA’s IAQ Tools for Schools Program guidance we improved IAQ and saw dramatic decreases in absenteeism and visits to the school nurse that have been sustained over time. It didn’t take much – but it did take making a commitment to improving IAQ and sticking to it.”
Read the rest of the post here.
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- In January, IAQ takes center stage at the 2011 Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools National Symposium.
- Check out the EPA's IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit to get started improving IAQ in your school.
- Improving IAQ makes schools greener, healthier places to learn and work. For more on how green cleaning can contribute to a healthy school, see HSC's Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools.
