Environmental Health

Dare to Clean Up the Air - Go the Extra Mile

Improving Indoor Air Quality is a complicated issue, but not an impossible one to tackle. The EPA offers a free program called Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) Action Kit that can be printed off the internet or ordered through the mail on CD-ROM. It is a program developed to improve indoor air quality, educate everyone in the school, and prevent future problems.

Why bother using the program?

• It will help you prevent IAQ problems which is usually less expensive than dealing with the problems later
• Everyone in the school will be educated and trained and able to problem-solve on their own without a lot of outside costly resources
• Your school will be an informed customer if you do have to hire contractors

Before you attempt the program, you should:

• Have the confidence to get the highest levels of school district administration to buy into it. Remind them that the program is designed to have a minimal impact on school budget and staff members’ time
• Realize it’s an on-going process, not an overnight miracle
• Find someone to be the IAQ coordinator, which can be an administrator, faculty member, facilities worker, or even school nurse.
• Round up a strong team to help with the duties, including one member from each group: teachers and principals, administrative and support staff, facility operators and custodians, school nurses, school board representatives, school transportation officials, contract service providers, and students or parents.
• Students and student science clubs can often take the lead in implementing the program. To learn about how different school districts have involved students, click here.