Update #23, September 30, 2009 &EFK Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) INDOOR AIR QUALITY TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS UPDATE In This Issue... • News and Events • Feature Article; Benefits of IAQ Management • Insight into Excellence: Baltimore County Public Schools • School IPM: It Works1 • Have Your Questions Answered! News and Events • Find out why this is the year to attend the IAQ Tools for Schools National Symposium. We invite you to join IAQ experts and peers from across the nation at this premiere event in Washington, D C., on January 14-16, 2010. Problem-based learning exercises, exclusive networking opportunities, and access to leading experts are just a few reasons why the 10thl Annual IAQ Tools for Schools National Symposium is a can't-miss event. Register today. • Dreaming of a brighter, greener future? Take on the 2009 Bright Green Dream School Sustainabilitv Challenge. Submit your ideas by October 12, 2009 for creating an energy-efficient, sustainable classroom of the future: winning entries will receive a $15,000 sustainable classroom upgrade. Enter today! • The Environmental Law Institute just released a new report, "School Indoor Air Quality: State Policy Strategies for Maintaining Healthy Learning Environments." The report profiles leading state policies which advance best IAQ management practices in schools. The report is available at: www.elistore.org/reports detail.asp?ID=11357 or www.eli.org/Program Areas/indoor environments.cfm. • Webinar! Chemicals in Schools: Real Problems. Real Solutions. October 15, 2009,1 - 2:30 PM EDT Register today for this webinar hosted by EPA's School Chemical Cleanout Campaign to hear from school, community, and industry experts who have all grappled with school chemical management issues and come away from the experience with valuable lessons learned and stories to share. Back to Top Benefits of IAQ Management Over the years, the IAQ Tools for Schools Program has proven to be an effective resource for schools to manage not just IAQ, but their total indoor environmental health, and schools have reported numerous benefits and advantages as a result. Some of the most rewarding benefits of an IAQ management program are increased community trust, partnerships with organizations supporting your efforts, and healthier, happier, more productive students and staff. And, while perhaps less personally rewarding, an effective IAQ management program can also yield financial and other tangible benefits. Simply put, the proof is in the pudding. Below, read profiles of some of the benefits that districts have experienced as a result of their effective IAQ management programs. ------- Update #23, September 30, 2009 Blue Valley School District (BVSD), Kansas BVSD established their IAQ management program in 2000, integrating it into their existing maintenance and energy program. BVSD uses a work order system to track reported IAQ concerns and monitor operating expenses to capture cost savings from IAQ upgrades. BVSD also tracks outcomes related to health and academic achievement. • An HVAC upgrade in one school alone yielded $23,000 in energy savings over one year. BVSD used the proof of cost savings as a rationale to reinvest in their IAQ program. • Standardized test scores have increased every year since the program began; BVSD boasts the highest ACT scores in the state. • Since inception of the IAQ management program, BVSD has achieved yearly reductions in IAQ complaints per capita, complaint severity, and the cost of response. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), North Carolina CMS instituted the IAQ TfS Program after an expensive and exhausting IAQ crisis. Departmental reorganization, district-wide training, and benchmarking all facilities led to the sustainable, institutionalized IAQ management program that CMS enjoys today. CMS tracks IAQ work orders and monitors costs saved by their proactive approach. • Drastically reduced response costs: actions costing more than $150,000 in the past are safely handled for less than $10,000 today. • A summertime training program emphasizing IAQ fundamentals cut mold work orders by 54%. North East Independent School District (NEISD), Texas NEISD proactively implemented the IAQ TfS Program when the drastic impact of asthma and allergies on their students' lives came to light. NEISD believed the IAQ TfS Program would be key to helping their students fare better while at school and give them the tools and the model they needed to manage their asthma and allergies effectively. • Increased average daily attendance (ADA) by 0.3% in the 2007-08 school year, translating into an additional $1.02 million in state funding. • Clutter-free classroom protocols reduced summer cleaning time by almost 50%. • Removed a total of 23 cubic yards of chemicals from school grounds as a result of an aggressive chemical clean-out program. Has your district experienced outstanding results from your IAQ management program? Tell us about them. We would love to feature your success in a future edition of the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Update! Back to Top Insight into Excellence: Baltimore County Public Schools, Excellence Award, 2007 Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) has the second-oldest facilities inventory in Maryland. So in 2004, when the Superintendent discovered the potential impacts of school building health on staff and student health and performance, and school operating costs, he was keen on starting a formalized IAQ management program. BCPS quickly formed a panel of facilities staff, teachers, PTA representatives, and students to review the district's environmental practices. By 2005, they had a plan in place. BCPS established protocols and clearly defined roles for each department in the district to ensure a streamlined, coordinated approach to IAQ management. Just one year later, in 2006, BCPS already had a long list of successes to brag about. The average expense on mold remediation projects in 2004 and 2005 was more than $500,000. But by the end of 2006, their total expenses were only $150,000. In addition, the number of remediation projects with the potential to delay a school opening was reduced from a typical range of 30-40 before BCPS instituted an IAQ management program to just a single incident the year after implementation. ------- Update #23, September 30, 2009 IAQ management programs do more than "just" improve the health and wellness of students and staff. BCPS and hundreds of other school districts prove that good IAQ management feeds in to good school management, where savings from preventing costly repairs, reducing energy bills, and addressing the root causes of IAQ issues direct money where it's needed most: in the classroom! Back to Top School IPM: It Works! IPM — Integrated Pest Management — is an ecologically-based pest management strategy that provides long- term management of pest problems with minimum impact on human health and the environment. School IPM demonstration projects have been evaluated and shown to result in improved efficiency and communication, as well as significantly better pest management and with less pesticide use and no increase in cost. Learn how you can replicate these approaches: download this brief guide to IPM. Back to Top Have Your Questions Answered! Is there a topic you want to see covered in an IAQ TfS Update? Need more information or have a quick question? Do you have suggestions for a Webinar, an Update feature, or are you simply curious about an IAQ topic and would like more information? If so, send us an e-mail at IAQTfSConnector@cadmusgroup.com . Share YOUR news and events! Send us information to share with the school IAQ community. It could be featured in the next Update. E-mail your news to IAQTfSConnector@cadmusaroup.com. If you like what you're reading, maybe a friend or colleague would too - forward this e-mail! To subscribe to IAQ TfS Updates, send an e-mail to IAQTfSConnector@cadmusaroup.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. The IAQ TfS Program is a comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting, and preventing IAQ problems. Learn more about the IAQ TfS Program at www.epa.gov/iaa/schools . Back to Top View EPAs privacy and security notice. Stop receiving messages from EPA's Indoor Air Quality Program. Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -1200 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. - Mail Code: 6609J - Washington, DC 20460 ------- |