The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council released a new report detailing how school districts around the country have managed air quality within their buildings during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, Managing Air Quality in the Pandemic: How K-12 Schools Addressed Air Quality in the Second Year of COVID-19, says that the chief obstacle for schools in implementing many recommended indoor air quality (IAQ) measures is that buildings’ HVAC systems were not designed to implement recommendations for improvement. Specific challenges were not found to be associated with any particular school district characteristics studied, such as demographics, locale or size, the study says.
During the past year, schools prioritized increasing outdoor air intake by whatever means were available to them. Just over half of school districts reported that they felt they had access to funding to support additional indoor air quality-related building improvements.
Non-urban districts were more likely to lean on state and local guidance, while urban districts were more likely to use federal-level guidance and guidance from national organizations like ASHRAE. Over a quarter of districts responded that there were no new plans to implement additional ventilation, filtration, or other building changes in schools.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 170 K-12 School Architecture Firms for 2023
PBK Architects, Huckabee, DLR Group, VLK Architects, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 100 K-12 School Construction Firms for 2023
CORE Construction, Gilbane, Balfour Beatty, Skanska USA, and Adolfson & Peterson top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 80 K-12 School Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, CMTA, Jacobs, WSP, and IMEG head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
K-12 Schools | Oct 21, 2023
The Blueprint Schools Program in Maryland reins in construction time and cost
This collaborative P3 is also committed to expanding participation of small and minority businesses.
K-12 Schools | Oct 4, 2023
New high school in Minnesota provides career pathways for students
This 90-acre school campus also features myriad sports facilities.
K-12 Schools | Oct 2, 2023
4 design strategies for successful K-12 magnet schools
Clark Nexsen's Donna Francis, AIA, Principal, and Becky Brady, AIA, share four reasons why diverse K-12 magnet schools require diverse design.
Contractors | Sep 25, 2023
Balfour Beatty expands its operations in Tampa Bay, Fla.
Balfour Beatty is expanding its leading construction operations into the Tampa Bay area offering specialized and expert services to deliver premier projects along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
K-12 Schools | Sep 5, 2023
CHPS launches program to develop best practices for K-12 school modernizations
The non-profit Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) recently launched an effort to develop industry-backed best practices for school modernization projects. The Minor Renovations Program aims to fill a void of guiding criteria for school districts to use to ensure improvements meet a high-performance threshold.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.