All News Releases By Date

Jefferson County R-1 School District honored for indoor air quality efforts

Release Date: 8/20/2001
Contact Information:
EPA 303-312-6144,

Release Date: 8/20/2001
Contact Information:
EPA 303-312-6017,

Release Date: 8/20/2001
Contact Information:
Jeff. Co. 303-982-2413,

Release Date: 8/20/2001
Contact Information:
EPA 303-312-6603

DENVER – In a recent ceremony in Washington, D.C., Jefferson County R-1 School District received EPA’s national Excellence Award for its participation in EPA’s voluntary Tools for Schools program, which helps schools address indoor air quality problems with low or no-cost solutions.

EPA selected 19 schools from across the country and honored them for adopting the Agency’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools program to improve indoor air quality in their buildings. This program is a nationwide initiative to help school officials address indoor air quality problems and reduce exposure to asthma triggers in the classroom and other school facilities. Program participants receive a Tools for Schools kit, which shows them how to improve indoor air problems at little cost by using simple activities and existing school staff.

To protect the health of students and staff, Jefferson County R-1 has taken a pro-active approach toward indoor air quality. The school district entered the Tools for Schools program in 2000 with a pilot project of nine schools. It plans to include the entire district over the next few years. Jefferson County R-1 is the largest school district in EPA’s six state region.

EPA provided indoor air quality training to facility and maintenance personnel in the district and instructed them in the proper techniques to conduct air quality assessments in the schools. After completing air quality assessments at the nine pilot schools, Jefferson County compiled and analyzed the data, from which they were able to prioritize renovations, repairs and other means of upgrading the schools’ indoor air quality. EPA will continue to assist Jefferson County R-1 with its district-wide application of the Tools for Schools program.

“Good indoor air quality contributes to a favorable learning environment. The Tools for Schools program is a common-sense guide to help prevent and solve the majority of indoor air problems affecting many of our nation’s schools”, said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. “We hope to encourage more schools across the country to participate in this valuable program.”

Children spend an average of eight hours a day in school. Pollutants inside classrooms and other indoor school facilities are often 2-5 times higher than outdoor levels and can trigger asthma attacks. Asthma in young children has risen by nearly sixty percent in the last fifteen years and is responsible for 10 million missed school days per year.

EPA presented the awards last week at its 2nd Annual Tools for Schools National Symposium. The symposium brings school officials, nurses, teachers, facility managers, parents and others together to raise awareness about indoor air quality and the potential negative effect poor indoor air quality can have on our children’s health.

Other award winners included: Nashua School District, SAU#42, Nashua, N.H.; North Country Union High School, Newport, Vt.; Connecticut School Indoor Environment Resource Team, Hartford, Conn.; Chicopee Public Schools, Chicopee, Mass.; Little Harbour School, Portsmouth School District, Portsmouth, N.H.; West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, Plainsboro, N.J.; Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Md.; West Virginia Department of Education, Charleston, W.Va.; Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, Savannah, Ga.; Hillsborough County Public Schools, Tampa, Fla.; St. Cloud Area School District 742, St. Cloud Minn.; Naperville Community Unit School District 203, Naperville, Ill.; Ft. Bend Independent School District, Stafford, Texas; Scott Middle School, Lincoln, Neb.; St. Mary=s Central High School, Bismarck, N.D.; Visalia Unified School District, Visalia, Calif.; Educational Service District 101 - Washington State, Spokane, Wash.; Everett School District #2, Everett, Wash.

For more information about EPA’s Tools for Schools program visit www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/ on EPA’s web site or call 1-800-438-4318 and ask for the Tools for Schools Road Map.