Update #6, August 14, 2008 Having problems viewing this message? Read it online Add us to your address book! Indoor Air Quality Tools Program Indoor Air Quality flAQ) INDOOR AIR QUALITY TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS UPDATE News & Events . Wehinar: How to Write Your IAQ TfS Award Winning Application, Wednesday, August 27, 2008, from 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET. Back by popular demand, this Webinar will not only teach you about the IAQ TfS Awards Program and how to write an award- winning application, but will also provide ample opportunity to have your questions answered by past IAQ TfS award winners and communication experts. Clliick here to register today! . Calling for School IAQ Policies and Procedures: The EPA IAQ TfS Program would like to feature your schools' IAQ policies and procedures in an upcoming Webinar and online. If you have IAQ policies or procedures that you would like to share to others, please send them to IAQTfSConnector@cadmusgroup.com. Back to Top As Summer Winds Down, School-based Asthma Management Gears Up! As summer slowly comes to an end, American children will be spending more and more time indoors. In fact, Americans spend 90% of their time indoors, making the quality of the indoor air a significant issue. This is especially true for the more than 55 million children spending much of that time indoors in school buildings, 1 in 10 of whom have asthma. Asthma is a leading cause of absenteeism due to chronic illness and thus, can contribute to lower academic performance. Learn what steps you can take to manage asthma in your classroom or schooi. One of the first steps in managing your students' asthma is to identify triggers in your school ------- buildings. Triggers are any airborne "pollutant" that can set off a reaction in your lungs and other parts of your body. Common triggers include secondhand smoke, dust mites, mold, cockroaches, and furry pets, including pets in the classroom. Learn more about common triggers at EPA's Indoor Environmental Asthma Triggers site. Then, download a sample Asthma Action Plan; an essential guide for families to work with their child's healthcare provider to create tailored action plans. "When students, families and schools follow the Asthma Action Plan, asthma can be controlled and students can be active and ready to learn. Students can control their asthma by avoiding triggers, monitoring asthma signs and symptoms and taking the correct asthma medications at the right times. When schools help students with asthma control, students can be in the classroom and learning just like students without asthma!"- Lani Wheeler, MD Back to Top Checklist Help manage asthma in your school with these tips for controlling asthma triggers—investigate before you forget! . Eliminate Secondhand Smoke Exposure - Enforce no-smoking policies in the school. . Reduce Dust Mite Exposure - Make sure school is dusted and vacuumed thoroughly and regularly. . Clean Up Moid and Control Moisture - Control the indoor climate to prevent mold growth-manage humidity, clean up spills, and prevent moisture condensation. Learn about the formula for mold growth. . Control Cockroach Allergens - Use integrated pest management (IPM) practices to prevent cockroach and other pest problems (e.g., store food in tightly sealed containers and place dumpsters away from the building). . Control Animal Allergens - Remove furry classroom pets from the school, if possible. If not, relocate them away from sensitive students and ventilation systems. For long-term results, put a program in place to manage asthma year round! Use the IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit - Help people with asthma by reducing ------- triggers and improving the school environment with the good IAQ practices recommended in this kit. . Develop an Asthma Management Plan in Your School - Include school policies on inhaler and medication usage, emergency procedures for school staff when a student has an asthma attack. Obtain the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's "Managing Asthma: A Guide for Schools". . Provide School-Based Asthma Education Programs - Contact your local American Lung Association about Open Airways or the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America about Power Breathing. These are school-based asthma management programs for students with asthma. . File Student Asthma Action Cards - Make sure students with asthma obtain and turn in copies of their action cards to the school nurse. Encourage students and their caregivers to identify their asthma triggers and steps they can take to reduce these triggers. . Gather Additional Asthma Information and Resources - Partner with a community organization near your school and establish a complete file on existing asthma and allergy-related information sources to reference throughout the school year. Back to Top Where Are They Now? Peggy Caruso, Fort Bend ISD, 2001 Excellence Award In 2001, Peggy Caruso led the IAQ team at Fort Bend ISD in Sugar Land, Texas to receive one of EPA's highest honors for excellence in IAQ management, the U.S. EPA's National Excellence Award. Where is she now? Peggy Caruso has moved on from Fort Bend ISD to become the environmental assistant director for Katy ISD, and she has led yet another IAQ team down the path of IAQ excellence. Her and her team's hard work and commitment to the health and performance of Katy's students has earned them EPA's highest honor for IAQ management: the National Model of Sustained Excellence Award in 2007. How did Peggy lead two IAQ teams to victory? Ask her! Send an e-mail to IAQTfSConnector@cadmusgroup.com. Back to Top ------- Tell Us What You Think Is there a topic you want to see covered in an IAQ TfS Update? Need more information or have a quick question? Send us an e-mail at IAQTfSConnector@cadmusqroup.com. Back to Top Contact Us or Subscribe If you would like more information about any of the topics discussed in this Update or would like to subscribe to EPA's IAQ TfS Updates, please send an e-mail to IAQTfSConnector@cadmusqroup.com. 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/iaq/schools Back to Top » Forward this e-mail to a friend. View EPA's privacy and security notice. Stop receiving messages from EPA's Indoor Air Quality Program. 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