public schools

Opinion: Why Haven’t We Made It Safer to Breathe in Classrooms?

Posted on August 9, 2023August 25, 2023 by Creed, Marina

Two years ago, we got a chance to assure parents and teachers, in any future epidemic, that the air in classrooms was safer, making it easier for children to attend school in person and avoid learning loss and isolation.

In March 2021, Congress allocated $122 billion for schools to cope with the Covid pandemic and its aftermath — to hire tutors, retain teachers or improve their facilities. Public health and clean air advocates hoped that this would lead to widespread improvements in classroom ventilation and air quality to help ward off future pathogenic threats and reduce problems like dust, allergens and wildfire smoke.

But only about 34 percent of school districts said they used any of the money to upgrade their heating ventilation and air-conditioning systems, according to a recent survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 28 percent more installed in-room air cleaners, 8 percent said they installed ultraviolet lights — a more expensive and complicated method — and the rest reported no changes that would substantially improve air quality.

DIY Air Filtration Systems Help Clear The Air in Connecticut Public Schools

Posted on September 19, 2022January 18, 2023 by Creed, Marina

Gov. Ned Lamont announced last week that his administration will release $150 million to help upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in Connecticut public schools to improve air filtration.

But medical staff and scientific researchers working on the University of Connecticut’s Indoor Air Quality Initiative say schools can improve the quality of their air with a $64 purchase at their local hardware store.

The program – led by Marina Creed, a nurse practitioner at the UConn Health Comprehensive MS Center – has already provided 200 so-called ‘Corsi-Rosenthal boxes’ to Coventry public schools, 100 to elementary school cafeterias in West Hartford, 10 at the Hartford Public Library and more at the South Park Inn Shelter in Hartford.

Clearing the Air: UConn School of Nursing donates air purifiers to Coventry schools

Posted on February 14, 2022February 3, 2023 by Creed, Marina

COVENTRY — Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many schools with aging ventilation systems have struggled to remove virus-carrying particles from the air. The University of Connecticut School of Nursing has devised an innovative solution, however, that was being installed today in Coventry schools.

Some 150 do-it-yourself air purifiers, known as Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes, built by university students on the Storrs campus over the weekend, were donated to Coventry schools to help them properly ventilate indoor spaces. The purifiers are built from commonly found materials, such as a box fan, air filters, cardboard, and duct tape, said Mikala Kane, UConn School of Nursing spokeswoman.