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2003 Excellence Award Winners
To learn more about EPA's awards and download applications:
- National Awards Program Home
- Great Start Awards
- Leadership Awards
- Excellence Awards
- Model of Sustained Excellence Awards
- Special Achievement Awards
IAQ TfS Award Winners
2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000
You can see a national map, just click on your state.
National Leaders in Improving Indoor Air Quality in Schools
- Adams Twelve Five Star Schools, Thornton, CO
- Bellingham School District #501, Bellingham, WA
- Blount County School System, Maryville, TN
- Blue Valley Unified School District #229, Overland Park, KS
- Cle Elum-Roslyn School District, Cle Elum, WA
- Clovis Unified School District, Clovis, CA
- Harford County Public Schools, Bel Air, MD
- Millcreek Township School District, Erie, PA
- Perkins Public Schools, Sandusky, OH
- Radnor Township School District, Wayne, PA
- Rochester Public Schools, Rochester, MN
- Salt Lake City School District, Salt Lake City, UT
- The School District of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, FL
- Waterford Public Schools, Waterford, CT
- Westborough Public Schools, Westborough, MA
- West Carrollton City School District, West Carrollton, OH
Special Achievement Award Winners
In Recognition of Outstanding Commitment to a Healthy School Environment
- John Gayetsky, Ohio Department of Health, OH
- Greg Lookabaugh, Education Service Center, TX
- Emily Fulmer, Applied Environmental Science Working Group, Mt. Whitney High School, CA
- Matthew Toy, Environmentally Concerned Kids Club, Northgate High School, CA
- Barbara Johnson, AANMA Outreach Service Volunteer, OH Clatie Campbell, AANMA Outreach Service Volunteer, NJ
Excellence Award Winners
Adams Twelve Five Star Schools, Thornton, CO
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Adams Twelve Five Star Schools successfully bargained with the teachers union to implement standard procedures (such as phasing out volatile organic
compound-based cleaning supplies) to ensure indoor air quality issues are handled expeditiously in their school district. To solidify the level of trust
with teachers and parents, the district uses various communications methods, from the school cable channel to bulletin boards, to keep the community informed.
Sharing their experience through the Colorado Association of School Executives, they serve as mentors to other schools within the state.
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Bellingham School District #501, Bellingham, WA
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Bellingham School District displayed perseverance and commitment to indoor air quality, convincing their stakeholders that IAQ is a long-term component
of education. With the support of the Northwest Air Pollution Authority, Washington State University Extension Energy Program, and EPA Region 10, the
district was able to incorporate IAQ into the district maintenance and operations manual. To further demonstrate the importance of good indoor air quality,
this district created the Good Apples Program recognizing outstanding indoor air quality achievements. Providing recognition and sharing
information within the community is a hallmark of the Bellingham program.
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Blount County School System, Maryville, TN
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Like many schools, Blount County School System suffered from mold-related problems and inadequate HVAC systems. But they did something about it! They
established an indoor air quality prevention and remediation structure, using the IAQ TfS Program in their schools. The central IAQ committee
includes school administrators, county government, an HVAC contractor, and a school architect.
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Blue Valley Unified School District #229, Overland Park, KS
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In collaboration with EPA Region 7, the American Lung Association, and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, the Blue Valley
Unified School District used IAQ TfS to convert their indoor air quality programs from an ad hoc approach to one that is highly systematic.
Blue Valley developed a series of IAQ policies, and a text mail/voice mail emergency response system. Blue Valley Unified School District continues to
communicate their policies successfully through education and outreach to the school community.
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Cle Elum-Roslyn School District, Cle Elum, WA
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Cle Elum-Roslyn School District has applied a "never give up" attitude to challenges that few districts will ever face. Persistent mold problems at a
district school resulted in a student walkout, formal complaints to state authorities, and negative media coverage. Cle Elum-Roslyn School District responded by
remediating the mold as well as developing a communications plan that successfully won back community trust. A series of student assemblies and community meetings
helped clarify the issues and explain the attempts to rectify past problems. Posters with a plan of the high school are updated to show improvements. The results
are extraordinary, as student complaints dropped from 180 in 2001 to 10 in 2002.
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Clovis Unified School District, Clovis, CA
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The experience of Clovis Unified School District demonstrates the importance of a team approach and the power of good communications to assure a healthy
environment. Teachers were turning off their air handling systems to reduce noise levels, causing poor indoor air quality in the classrooms. School staff
worked to find a solution that included reconfiguring the ductwork to lower the noise level in classrooms. Currently, students are able to learn in
quiet areas with good ventilation due to this successful team approach.
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Harford County Public Schools, Bel Air, MD
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Working in partnership with the American Lung Association, Harford County Public Schools has established indoor air quality guidelines for team
formation, walkthrough inspections, and reporting complaints, but allows flexibility to meet the needs of individual schools. Harford County Public
Schools has an effective communications plan that involves the school community, including training on indoor air quality and maintenance and parent
notification through newsletters and cable access programming. This school district's indoor air quality efforts have been successful due to the
effective communication and partnerships within the community.
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Millcreek Township School District, Erie, PA
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Millcreek Township School District modeled proactive indoor air quality management techniques in district schools. The district maintenance supervisor
visited each school, showed the walkthrough video, conducted initial inspections, and prepared work orders for any apparent problems. This significantly
improved the indoor air quality in each school in the district. Millcreek Township School District shares information about its IAQ program and progress
with a union network of 20 other districts.
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Perkins Public Schools, Sandusky, OH
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An elementary school in Sandusky identified a mold contamination problem after a lengthy, thorough investigative process. Students, parents, and staff
became frustrated throughout the process and this led to mistrust and unfounded rumors in the school community. In addition to the successful mold
remediation, the district restored community and student trust by establishing an IAQ newsletter and opening IAQ committee meetings to the press.
Perkins Public Schools cooperated with Erie County and the Ohio Department of Health to customize their walkthrough checklists and adapt theIAQ TfS
Kit for the district.
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Radnor Township School District, Wayne, PA
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Radnor Township School District not only established an exemplary IAQ TfS Program, they went a step further and built a new school designed to
be free from toxins and other indoor air quality hazards. This school won the Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence. Radnor also developed a
written protocol for maintenance procedures in all of the district schools.
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Rochester Public Schools, Rochester, MN
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Since 1995, Rochester Public Schools has maintained high standards of indoor air quality by implementing a major, 10 year maintenance plan. This plan
helped the district plan roof, window, carpet, floor tile, and mechanical replacements and upgrades in order to keep buildings in good operating condition.
Rochester Public Schools has not experienced any major IAQ problems due to their proactive and well-planned preventive maintenance program.
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Salt Lake City School District, Salt Lake City, UT
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Salt Lake City School District maintains high standards of indoor air quality through an extremely thorough set of policies and a simple proactive plan.
The district has implemented guidelines and policies to ensure proper maintenance of mechanical systems and school facilities. Careful logs of maintenance
efforts are documented as part of the preventive maintenance policy. IAQ TfS has played a vital role in their program.
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The School District of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, FL
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The School District of Palm Beach County maintains good indoor air quality in their 160 schools through continual training, policies, and perseverance.
Palm Beach County School District established the Environmental Control Office, which used the methods and analysis outlined in the IAQ TfS Kit to
develop programs for HVAC preventive maintenance, integrated pest management, carpet removal, and classroom pets. The district has noted a drop in
IAQ-related complaints since this program was developed.
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Waterford Public Schools, Waterford, CT
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Waterford Public Schools applied recommendations of the IAQ TfS Program to all of its buildings and experienced positive results. Initial
walkthroughs identified numerous issues, many of which were easily addressed. They updated policies and procedures and included a wide range of
stakeholders on the IAQ team, including principals, nurses, parents, and custodial staff. Their efforts have been successful in raising the Board of
Education's indoor air quality awareness and gaining positive media coverage for the district as well as the IAQ TfS Program.
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Westborough Public Schools, Westborough, MA
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A strong indoor air quality program and a wide range of allies established Westborough Public Schools as a model for local schools to maintain a
healthy environment. An unexplained outbreak of an upper respiratory infection in an elementary school closed the building for six weeks, thereby
inspiring the district to take a more proactive approach to protecting the health of students. When the teacher's union expressed concerns about poor
indoor air quality, the Massachusetts Teachers Association provided training, turning Westborough's teachers into enthusiastic supporters. Westborough
Public Schools created an IAQ manual that has been shared with other school districts.
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West Carrollton City School District, West Carrollton, OH
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Starting with top management, West Carrollton City School District is fundamentally committed to good IAQ. The Board of Education established five
district goals, one of which was "to continuously provide for a healthy/safe learning/working environment." The district follows up on each
IAQ complaint by interviewing the complainant before and after the problem has been addressed. The results speak for themselves. One school experienced
a 12.2 percent decrease in absenteeism in one year (8.6 percent district wide). West Carrollton is becoming known as a regional resource for
IAQ management.
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Special Achievement Award Winners
John Gayetsky, Ohio Department of Health, OH
John Gayetsky, with the Ohio Department of Health, goes above and beyond his day-to-day work in the schools. His efforts include his involvement in the overhaul of Ohio's school environmental inspection protocol and his participation as a member of the Ohio School Design Manual Advisory Committee. John is assuring that Ohio's schools are built and maintained to provide the best learning environment for their students.
- Contact: John Gayetsky, (614) 644-7630
Greg Lookabaugh, Education Service Center, TX
Greg Lookabaugh, with the Education Service Center and an officer with the Texas Association of School Business Officials, has become a mentor for the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program in Texas. He provides expert technical support and facilitates coordination and training to school districts throughout Texas.
- Contact: Greg Lookabaugh, (713) 462-7708
Emily Fulmer, Applied Environmental Science Working Group, Mt. Whitney High School, CA
Emily Fulmer, a senior at Mt. Whitney High School, initiated and implemented a district-wide IAQ Symposium for over 40 high school students from four California high schools in January 2003. Based on interest generated by the symposium, Emily organized the Applied Environmental Science Working Group Club at Mt. Whitney High School, which is devoted to improving indoor air quality and the student learning environment. Emily continues to share her ideas and experience with students and administrators of other nearby schools.
Matthew Toy, Environmentally Concerned Kids Club, Northgate High School, CA
Mathew Toy, a senior at the time, was the President of the Environmentally Concerned Kids (ECK) Club at Northgate High School. Through the work of this club, Matthew implemented the IAQ Tools for Schools Program in his school despite lack of funding. Matthew is helping other high schools replicate his success of implementing the IAQ Tools for Schools Program.
Barbara Johnson, AANMA Outreach Service Volunteer, OH and Clatie Campbell, AANMA Outreach Service Volunteer, NJ
Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics Outreach Service volunteers Barbara Johnson of Columbus, OH, and Clatie Campbell of Trenton, NJ, attended the 2002 Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Symposium. They both expected to implement IAQ TfS in their local school systems. When their efforts met with insurmountable resistance they did not give up. Instead, they helped change attitudes in their communities about indoor air quality in schools. Both Barbara and Clatie's creative thinking, determination, and patience enabled them to bring their dream of IAQ TfS implementation closer to reality in their communities.
- Contact: Barbara Johnson, (614) 279-1700 Clatie Campbell, (609) 394-6000, ext. 2407