Smiling kindergarten teacher and children sitting in circle and meditating. Preschool activities and early childhood education concept

School leaders looking for ways to improve the performance of their students should add their facility cleaning manager to the team. According to EnvirOx, the school facility cleaning manager can help by improving the indoor air that students breathe every day.

The World Green Building Council (WBGC) has been investigating the link between school environment and student performance. The organization's Better Places for People project, launched in 2014, has been working to demonstrate how green buildings can help people.

Schools are a major focus because, “School is a place a child has to go, no matter the indoor environmental conditions. And young children are impacted by indoor environmental factors, like poor air quality, more than adults.”

In a study of 100 elementary classrooms, there was a 2.9 percent and 2.7 percent increase in math and reading scores, respectively, for each liter per second per person increase in ventilation rates. Also, higher ventilation rates have been associated with faster and more accurate student responses for color, picture memory and word recognition.

According to the WBGC, low or zero-VOC furnishings, materials and cleaning products, can help reduce baseline IAQ levels.

More information about improving air quality in schools can be found on the Healthy Schools Campaign website. Information and resources to make sustainable changes in the classroom can also be found on the Environmental Protection Agency’s school environment page.