• What is a healthy school?

  A healthy school cares for and looks after the overall well-being of its occupants. This school is an environment-friendly school, saves energy and is passionate about the health of its occupants.

  Healthy schools:

  • Promote health and well-being of occupants
  • Save energy
  • Have better indoor air quality (IAQ)

  For the last several years, CEFPI has provided information, resources and tools for school districts to improve indoor air quality in their schools. This is in line with US EPA's goal of having 40,000 schools nationwide implement good indoor air quality practices by 2012.

  

• US EPA announces Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) National Symposium in Washington, DC
  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosts its annual Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) National Symposium in Washington, DC, to bring together past, present and future leaders in protecting and improving IAQ in our nation's schools. The IAQ Tools for Schools Program is a nationwide initiative to help school officials assess, resolve, and prevent IAQ problems, and to reduce exposure to asthma triggers in school facilities. While school officials, administrators, facilities and operations personnel, teachers, parents, and students traditionally attend, the Symposium is open to anyone with an interest in IAQ in schools.

• CEFPI is offering 10 scholarships for members to attend national symposium!
  CEFPI is offering 10 scholarships to members to attend this symposium as part of a co-operative agreement with the US EPA. The objective is to provide members an opportunity to attend the symposium, network, make use of the tools available so that they can return to their school districts and implement the Tools for Schools (TfS) program. Scholarship announcements will be made soon. For details, contact: sarat@cefpi.org.

• New! Read about a sustainability management system developed by the Poudre School District and The Brendle Group in Fort Collins, Colorado. View the report here.

• Watch a video of a healthy school
  This video, produced by CEFPI under a grant awarded by the US EPA highlights how a school in Minnesota is reaping the benefits of building healthy. To watch the video your computer must have up-to-date video viewing software installed. You may need to download the free Windows media player. Click here.

• Take a virtual tour of a healthy school
  Williamstown Elementary School, centered in the picturesque town of Williamstown, MA is surrounded by the Berkshire Mountains. The school blends with its outside greenery by having a state-of-the-art green building. Take a virtual tour at: williamstownelementary.org

• Now, learn what a healthy, high performance school building is, why it is valuable and how your community can have one. The Sustainable Buildings Industry Coalition has developed a "special classroom" about high-performance buildings. Learn more at: www.buildingmedia.com/sbic

• How can a healthy, high performance school yield cost benefits? Learn more about the cost effectiveness, benefit to learning environment, and planning of high performance schools. www.neep.org

• Policy review on healthy schools. Download a review of state policies for improving Indoor Air Quality prepared by the Environmental Law Institute. Available at: www2.eli.org/research/

• A comprehensive list of resources about Healthy High Performance Schools is available at the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) Web site: www.edfacilities.org

Disclaimer: The Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) is not responsible for the contents on this Web site.