The Washington DOH has required school districts to implement "Layered mitigation strategies" in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These include universal masking, physical distancing, increased ventilation, increased sanitization, etc. There has been a good deal of research around the effectiveness of various mitigation strategies. Most recently, the American Institute of Physics (AIP) published a study titled "SARS-CoV 2 transmission in classroom settings: Effects of mitigation, age, and Delta variant" in their peer-reviewed Journal Physics of fluids.
The abstract of the study reads, in part:
"Traditional, in-person classroom settings have been limited during the COVID-19 pandemic due to their potential to transmit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among students, teachers, and other educational workers. Using computational fluid dynamics simulations, mitigation strategies that span approaches using face coverings, various ventilation schemes, air purifiers/cleaners, and desk shields are systematically evaluated in thermally controlled classrooms. Individually, face coverings and source control were the most effective, which was followed by well-designed ventilation systems. The use of desk shields was also studied and appeared to be ineffective. The best mitigation approach is shown to be through multiple measures—using face coverings and ventilation systems combined with air purifiers."
Director of Facilities and Safety Scott Landrigan has been researching improvements to our school ventilation systems, including air purification.
The purpose of this discussion is to inform the board of the opportunity to improve our school air quality in a comprehensive manner.
Mr. Landrigan will be joined by TRANE experts to share with the board these opportunities and answer any questions of the board. They will be presenting from the linked slide show.
IAQ Presentation (PDF)
IAQ Presentation (PPT)