PURPOSE

Over 1.75 million children and 100 thousand adults across Ohio spend their days in K-12 schools1. The environmental health of these facilities can be strongly linked to the educational success of Ohios children. Poor environmental conditions can thwart academic progress by making it harder for students to concentrate, causing or exacerbating illness in students and staff, increasing absences and lost work days, and diverting school funds to pay for costly repair and remediation projects2. On the other hand, improvement in school environmental conditions can have significant positive impacts. For instance, in one study children in classrooms with higher outdoor air ventilation rates scored 14 to 15% higher on standardized tests than children in classrooms with lower outdoor air ventilation rates3. In addition to wellness and the advancement of the core educational mission, attention to environmental quality can improve the financial health of Ohios schools. A study of one elementary school in Minnesota showed that if $8,140 had been spent over 22 years on preventive maintenance, $1.5 million in repairs could have been avoided4. The purpose of this project is to assist Ohios nearly 4,000 K-12 schools in evaluating, improving and maintaining the environmental health of their facilities. Ultimately, improved school environmental health will enhance the educational environment leading to decreased absenteeism of students and staff, stronger academic performance (including higher test scores) and long-term financial return on investment5.

For more information contact: The Bureau of Environmental Health School Environmental Health at: 614-466-4556 SEH@ODH.ohio.gov

CREATING SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL ENVIROMENTAL HEALTH IN OHIO

Bureau of Environmental Health School Environmental Health Program

Ohio Department of Health

http://1.usa.gov/1gEMVDn http://nces.ed.gov/programs/stateprofiles/sresult.asp?mode=short&s1=39 http://www.eli.org/buildings/topics-school-environmental-health Shaughnessy, R., Haverinen-Shaughnessy, U., Nevalainen, A., & Moschandreas, D. (2006). A Preliminary study on the association between ventilation rates in classrooms and student performance. Indoor Air, 16, (6), 465-468. 4 http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/indoorair/schools/ 5 http://www.21csf.org/csf-home/Documents/ResearchImpactSchoolFacilitiesFeb2010.pdf
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http://1.usa.gov/1gEMVDn

PROCESS CREATE TRAIN COMMUNICATE IMPLEMENT

TRAIN
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and SEHAP will collaborate to provide at least one full day of training for Local Health Departments and educational personnel. Training will take place in each of Ohios five regions and will focus on the implementation of the voluntary SEH Guidelines.

SUSTAIN SUSTAIN CREATE

A statewide School Environmental Health Advisory Panel (SEHAP) was formed in January, 2014. This committee is made up of representatives from educational and public health organizations. It is facilitated by the Ohio Department of Health, Bureau of Environmental Health. This steering committee will develop School Environmental Health (SEH) guidelines, communicate the importance and benefits of implementing the guidelines, and plan for sustainable SEH activities in the future. Meetings will be held twice a month between January and May of 2014 to review existing SEH resources and guidelines, plan assessment of Ohios current school environmental health, and develop new Ohio-specific SEH guidelines.
Stakeholder input regarding SEH topics will be gathered through a variety of methods. Electronic submission of comments will be available as well as two face-toface meetings with a virtual attendance option. This information will be used in the formation of the guidelines. Before the guidelines are completed, draft guidelines will be made available through OSHEN for further comment.

COMMUNICATE
In order to reduce barriers to implementation and create demand for SEH guidelines and resources, ODH will use a variety of methods to disseminate environmental health information. Educational and public health organizations will know that baseline implementation will be free or low cost; the implementation process will be user-friendly, incorporating a step-by-step format which identifies and addresses the most pressing environmental health issues; schools and Local Health Departments will have access to a concise assessment tool that is aligned to the guidelines.

A communications network called OSHEN (Ohio Schools Healthy Environments Network) will be created consisting of Ohio schools, major educational organizations, and other interested stakeholders throughout the state. The purpose of this network will be to offer training, collaboration, mentoring and sharing of information related to school environmental health. Through quarterly meetings, online resources, and social media members will receive support, updates on training materials and opportunities, and a library of SEH tools. Additionally, to sustain interest and maintain expertise, ODH and SEHAP will create online webinars which will be current and topic specific for use by individual schools and districts. It is our hope that these trainings will also provide a forum for individuals working on or with an interest in SEH to share and learn from each others experiences. These training opportunities will be available to other state SEH programs as well, increasing the positive impact of this program and the resources it creates. Finally, a tiered system of public recognition will be developed in order to recognize school districts in their efforts to create healthier school environments.

IMPLEMENT
Through the ongoing efforts of ODH and SEHAP, it is hoped that a minimum of 30% of Ohios schools will choose to implement the new SEH guidelines.

Ohio Department of Health: Brueau of Environmental Health: School Environmental Health