Improving Air Quality in Kansas Schools and Daycares

Since children spend a significant portion of their time in daycare and school buildings, it is important for these spaces to be as safe and healthy as possible. Indoor air quality is linked to learning and school performance. This project aims to develop an innovative and practical decision-making tool for Kansas schools and childcare facilities that will help mitigate indoor air pollution, reduce childhood respiratory diseases, increase school attendance, and enhance overall school achievement.


The project creates evidence-based support tools and action steps that school decision-makers can implement in response to rising outdoor air pollution, thus protecting the indoor air where Kansas children learn and play.

Background

In 2008, asthma accounted for an estimated 14.4 million lost days of school among children nationally (American Lung Association 2010), which is consistently associated with worse academic performance. As a result, students with asthma may be more likely to experience poor academic outcomes (Meng et al. 2012).

The air quality at schools and daycares in Kansas can be impacted when outdoor air is poor due to weather conditions, range burning, wildfires, or proximity to heavy traffic areas or industrial sites.

Now Looking for Schools and Daycares in Kansas to Participate!

Our Project Team is looking for daycares and schools in Kansas that are interested in installing indoor air quality monitoring equipment in their classrooms to collect air data. This data will help us develop tools that we will share with schools and daycares across the Midwest, helping to ensure the air that children and teachers breathe is as healthy as possible.

The data we collect will not identify specific issues at individual buildings. All data will be aggregated to create a decision-support tool. Data will not be shared outside of the Project Team. The Project Team consists of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Engineering Department and Environmental Finance Center.

The project鈥檚 goal is to understand how outdoor air quality impacts the indoor air environment. Then, we will develop a decision-making tool for school and daycare administrators or facilities personnel to assist in making the best decisions regarding how to manage HVAC systems to protect the health of students when outdoor air quality is poor.


If you are a school or daycare in Kansas interested in participating in this project, please see the flyer (below) and contact tonya.bronleewe@wichita.edu.

This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement 97791901 to 麻豆传媒 Environmental Finance Center. The contents of this flyer do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned.