There are 53 million children and 6 million adults that spend significant time indoors in our nation’s 120,000 public and private school buildings. Ensuring that our children have clean and healthy environments to learn and play is becoming an urgent priority.
• Studies show that 1/2 of the nation’s public schools have problems linked to indoor air quality.
• The EPA ranks indoor air quality (IAQ) among the top five environmental risks to public health.
The K12 Healthy Schools Program from Multi-Clean contains practical strategies schools can follow to improve the indoor environment within an existing budget framework. This program was designed to identify areas where schools can improve the physical environment and provide helpful resources to help affect change. The core of this program is a tool called the K12 4-Pillars Audit which is designed to help accomplish two specific objectives:
1. Identify areas in need of Improvement through the use of an inspection-audit.
2. Provide the resources to help affect changes to make schools healthier.
K12 4-Pillars Audit Instructions:
1. Click on the button associated with each pillar identified below. Required, Microsoft Excel 97-2003 or higher.
2. Customize the audit by putting names and contact information in the header of the audit.
3. Meet with a member of the school staff and go through each question in the audit answering yes, no or partial in regards to whether they have a program or process in place.
4. Each question also contains a LEARN MORE link to provide more background information and a RESOURCE Link to provide resources to help implement a program or process.
5. If desired you may easily print each page of the audit to put together a professional report.
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Pillar 1 Health and Wellness: Illness related absenteeism can reach epidemic proportions during the cold and flu season. This pillar helps identify areas such as hand hygiene and infection control and provides resources to help reduce the transmission of illness and absentee rates.
Action Points: Hand Hygiene, Infection Control Plan, Bloodborne Pathogens, Pandemic Planning.
Each year, there are an estimated 60 million lost school days due to the common cold and flu.
Health & Wellness
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Pillar 2 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): Asthma rates amongst K-12 students is near epidemic proportions. This pillar identifies specific areas that impact IAQ and offers resources to manage and improve. It draws heavily from the EPA Tools for Schools Program.
Action Points: IAQ Management Plan, HVAC, Mold Prevention, Integrated Pest Management Plan. 1 in 10 K-12 students has asthma resulting in 10.5 million lost days each year.
Indoor Air Quality
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Pillar 3 Cleaning and Maintenance: It’s clear that Green Cleaning needs to be a central part of a school’s facility maintenance plan. This pillar works to clarify where a school at in regards to green cleaning and provides the resources to document and expand the program.
Action Points: Green Cleaning Policy & Program, Green Cleaning Products, Entrance Matting
Average daily attendance rates improve by 1 student for each 1000 ft2 reduction in the area that each custodian must maintain.
Clean & Maintain
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Pillar 4 Pollution Prevention: Reducing waste, using resources more efficiently and developing a recycling program for schools helps minimize pollution. This pillar will help you with resources to improve your program.
Action Points: Waste Stream Audit, Sensors, Waterless Urinals, Recycling
The Average High School Student generates 98 lbs of waste per year.
Pollution Prevention