EPA recently honored 10 schools for their outstanding efforts to create healthier indoor environments for their students and staffs at the IAQ Tools for Schools National Symposium in Baltimore, Md.

The award ceremony was part of a three-day training and symposium, sponsored in partnership by EPA, American Association of School Administrators, American Lung Association, International City/County Managers Association, National Association of Counties, National Association of School Nurses, National Education Association Health Information Network and the MidAtlantic Environmental Hygiene Resource Center.

The winners were: William Blackstone Elementary School, Boston, Mass.; Baldwin Union Free School District, Baldwin, N.Y.; Bensalem Township School District, Bensalem, Pa.; School District of Okaloosa County, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; New Ulm Public Schools, New Ulm, Minn.; El Paso Independent School District, El Paso, Texas; Indianola Community School District, Indianola, Iowa; King-Murphy Elementary, Clear Creek School District, Evergreen, Colo.; Saugus Union School District, Saugus, Calif. and Sedro-Wooley School District, Sedro-Wooley, Wash.

Almost all of the schools honored by EPA were represented at the awards ceremony by contingents of professionals who have fully utilized the low-cost techniques and suggestions of Tools for Schools. Many of the representatives were the engineering and maintenance staff themselves who instituted the program in their schools.

Hector Martinez, P.E., accepting the award for the El Paso Independent School District, helped to implement the program in his district in January 1999 after concerns about mold contamination at one of the 84 campuses spurred the school district to action.

"These are not insurmountable problems," according to Martinez. "Tools for Schools provides an orderly and logical approach to addressing IAQ concerns." When the threat of mold contamination in El Paso's schools came to light, the ISD immediately made substantial funds available for testing and sampling and, "took the issue very seriously from the outset," said Martinez.

Michael Sheehan, IAQ Committee Co-Chair of the Baldwin Union Free School District said that, "[IAQ] Concerns have dropped dramatically since we implemented Tools for Schools in 1997." Sheehan cited the exemplary cooperation between the school board and the various unions representing support staffs as a key to the successful implementation of the program in his district. Sheehan also described his student population as "atypical" for its relatively low incidence of asthma. According to EPA, the district effectively used the Tools for Schools kit to identify and aggressively employ a broad range of measures to stem sources of possible air quality problems - from adopting low-odor, low-VOC paints to making exclusive use of HEPA vacuums.

Scott Hogen, facilities director for the New Ulm School District, described himself as, "very surprised and delighted" to receive an award. Hogen said one of the most effective aspects of the program were the, "simple changes in cleaning habits that help to improve the quality of the indoor air." The school district made the program and good air quality in the learning and teaching environment a policy priority and is regarded as a national model for rural school districts with limited means.

Jim Garrett of the Indianola Community School district described the improvements afforded by the implementation of the program as "absolutely amazing" and stressed the importance of teamwork among administrators, custodial and kitchen staffs, teachers, parents and students for the success of the program, as well as, "getting input and feedback from all of those groups."

The Symposium

Kari Arfstrom of AASA told IE Connections she was ecstatic with the turnout of the symposium, with more than 250 attending from the education and environmental fields.

As well as the awards ceremony, the symposium featured a first day with overviews on basic IAQ knowledge, health effects, control measures and how to get started using the Tools for Schools kit. The second day highlighted success stories from the field, and then concurrent sessions on such topics as linking health and learning, addressing liability and media concerns, IAQ management, the costs of implementing the Tools for Schools program, and building an IAQ team.

On the final day, attendees split into groups based on their professions- school administrators, teachers, building management/facilities, school-based health services, community-based organizations and public health officials- to address the challenges of implementing the program. Then the attendees got back together and reported on the points and comments that were made in each group.

One professional from a private environmental firm told IE Connections he was happy with results.

"So often when dealing with school IAQ problems, there is a major communication breakdown between all the school and community players," he said. "This program gets everyone talking the same language right from the beginning. Maybe this [program] will help the problems disappear altogether."

Plans are currently under way for future Tools for Schools conferences but no specific information was available at press time.