Clean Air School Challenge

Hello and welcome to an overview of the Clean Air School Challenge.

So what is indoor air quality? You know, indoor air quality refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially how it relates to the health and comfort of those inside the building.

You know, every day we take about 22,000 breaths and we spend about 90% of our time indoors. So, it's really important that the air we breathe indoors is clean. However, indoor air is usually two to five times more polluted than outdoor air.

Now, what influences indoor air quality? A whole, whole host of things: from pollutants to the filtration and air flow, to temperature and humidity, and the building age and outdoor pollutants coming inside, building materials, furnishings, occupant behavior, and so much more. And we know that children are impacted by indoor air quality a bit more than adults. And this is really because they take more breaths, they're exposed to more environmental pollutants, they're still developing—including their sensitive lung tissue—and they're in a position where they cannot protect themselves.

We know that poor indoor air quality in schools impacts both students and staff. We know that it reduces productivity and academic performance. It's related to increased absenteeism and missed work days. It impairs the focus and concentration and the decision-making abilities of students and faculty. It can lead to dizziness, tiredness, headaches, difficulty breathing, and coughing. We can see from indoor air quality an increased spread of airborne bacteria and viruses. And also, it can make individuals with asthma and allergy—those reactions—worse.

So the American Lung Association is offering the Clean Air School Challenge. The goal of the Clean Air School Challenge is to have schools assess and write an energy-efficient indoor air quality management plan. And the American Lung Association is here to help schools at every step of the way, including assessing, planning, and acting on improving indoor air quality.

There's a variety of benefits of schools participating in the Clean Air School Challenge, including the education and training that we at the Lung Association have to offer, one-on-one technical assistance, the opportunity to apply for mini-grants at the assess, plan, and act level. The Lung Association will provide recognition, peer mentorship, and also the opportunity to participate in learning collaboratives.

Finally, schools that participate in the Clean Air School Challenge can access a whole host of Lung Association programs and resources to learn more and really be an active voice in your school's indoor air quality. Learn more at lung.org.

And if you have questions, you can contact us directly at casc@lung.org.

Thank you. We'll see you online.

Hello and welcome to Creating Healthy and Efficient School Environments. I'm Lisa Gebhard with the American Lung Association. This brief recording is brought to you by the Lung Association's Clean Air School Challenge.

The Clean Air School Challenge meets schools where they are in their indoor air quality and energy management journey. Participating schools will receive support and guidance as they work their way through three program phases. Assess, plan, and act. The goal of the Clean Air School Challenge is to have schools write energy efficient indoor air quality management plans.

Schools who participate will receive several different benefits and opportunities. They will receive education and training specifically about indoor air quality and energy management. They will receive technical assistance from a designated lung association staff member. And likely the most enticing benefit is the many grant funds available to schools.

We'll also provide recognition and peer mentorship along with the opportunity to participate in a learning collaborative with other schools. Lastly, schools will have access to the whole host of American Lung Association programs and services.

Technical assistance will be provided along the way for things such as building support and buying from school and district leadership. Securing mini-grant funding, assessing your school's energy use and assessing indoor air quality, writing an energy-efficient indoor air quality management plan, and identifying the most helpful tools, resources, and trainings to guide your school in this process.

The Lung Association has a wonderful technical assistance team to support you. You will be assigned to one of the team members shown here who will be your primary contact as you work toward developing a comprehensive plan.

And probably the most exciting benefit and the one we get the most questions about is the mini grant funding. So, let's talk about those. There are some eligibility criteria. First, schools must be participating in the Clean Air School Challenge. Second, they must be a public or charter school teaching anywhere from K through 12 nationwide. And finally, priority of grant funds will be given to title one, tribal, and rural communities.

We have three levels of funding that align with the program phases of assess, plan, and act. At the assess level, we have $2,500 per school, and up to 10 schools in a district can receive funding at this level. This means up to $25,000 in a district to complete an indoor air quality assessment or an energy audit. At the plan level, we have $3,000 per school or 30,000 per district to help schools as they are developing and writing their plans. And finally, to help put plans into action, we have $4,000 per school or 40,000 per district.

We are here to assist you with resources, guidance, and tools as schools begin drafting and implementing energy efficient indoor air quality management plans. If you want to learn more about the importance of clean indoor air at schools or about the Clean Air School Challenge, visit our web page lung.org/casc or send an email to casc@lung.org.