Click play to listen to the Back to School Refresher on Indoor Air Quality article. 

“How was school today?”

It’s a question you’ve most likely asked your kids. (Is the answer ever different?)

Another question you may want to start asking is, “How was the air quality at school today?”

And for that question, you’ll want real answers.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is added awareness around the air quality in schools and how it impacts students’ health and performance. And in mid-2022, the federal government directed funds of up to $122 billion to schools, some of which will go toward improving Indoor Air Quality.

These improvements will include things like maximizing ventilation, enhancing filtration, and using air quality monitors for things like CO2 and radon.

Healthy Air for Your Student

How is your kid’s school doing when it comes to air quality?

Some evidence suggests that an increasing number of schools across the country are applying for and receiving funding to improve their air systems. But progress has been slow, and some schools aren’t taking full advantage of the opportunity to help students and staff for the long term.

Healthy indoor air has a range of benefits, especially in schools. With increased ventilation in classrooms, fewer children suffer from the flu, asthma attacks, and other illnesses that keep them out of school. Plus, research has shown that reading and math test scores improve when less carbon dioxide is built up in the classroom because students can think more clearly. (See the top of page 14 here.)

What Impacts Indoor Air Quality

For more information on the different factors that make up Indoor Air Quality, check out the AprilAire Healthy Air System^®. These are takeaways you could share with school administrators if you’re concerned about the air quality your children are experiencing in the classroom.

Here are the main components:

• Fresh air ventilation removes stale, stagnant air and replaces it with fresh air from the outdoors.
• Air filtration works with HVAC systems to remove harmful particles like dust mites, pet dander, pollen, and mold spores from the air.
• Humidity control keeps the humidity level between 40% and 60% for optimal health and comfort, and makes it harder for things like viruses to survive.

Plus, the AprilAire Healthy Air System^® delivers monitoring for harmful radon gas, and gives you easy controls to manage your entire IAQ system.

Overall, these measures can help achieve greater comfort and wellness in indoor spaces with virus protection, fewer allergens, and better ventilation.