Holistic K-12 Schools: Environmental Considerations

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ): “the conditions inside the building, which typically includes air quality, and access to daylight, views, pleasant acoustic conditions, and occupant control over lighting and thermal comfort.”

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is defined as “the conditions inside the building, which typically includes air quality, and access to daylight, views, pleasant acoustic conditions, and occupant control over lighting and thermal comfort.” (10)

Research shows IEQ of the built environment impacts human health. For a school, it has a direct impact on student and teacher performance, as well as a sense of comfort, health, and well-being. (11)

Within a school, 90 percent of the occupants are rapidly developing children and women of reproductive age. (12) As such, this population is more vulnerable to poor IEQ. Yet the EPA estimates 46 percent of US public schools have environmental conditions contributing to poor IEQ. (13) These conditions exacerbate other health issues, such as asthma. Childhood asthma is the leading cause of student absenteeism, with over 10 million days of school missed annually. (14) The US Department of Education considers chronic absenteeism a hidden educational crisis in schools. (15)

While chronic absenteeism is impacted by many factors, the school environment plays a role.

Healthy schools can have a positive impact on students’ ability to be present and fully engaged in learning. The EPA even notes it is essential for teacher and student health. According to the EPA, high performance, healthy schools see many benefits, including: (16)

• Higher test scores,

• Increased average daily attendance,

• Reduced operating costs,

• Increased teacher satisfaction and retention,

• Reduced liability exposure, and

• Reduced environmental impacts.

While the EPA focuses predominantly on air quality, other environmental considerations play a role in student and teacher health and performance.

Natural Lighting

Daylight is the volume of natural light that enters a building between sunrise and sunset as direct, indirect or diffused sunlight. (17) Natural lighting strategies allows us to create a visually stimulating, well-lit, and productive environment. (18) For school designers, proper daylighting can ensure lower artificial light energy use and promote school occupant health. (19) (20) Children spend up to 40 hours in school and are more sensitive to daylight exposure than adults because they have larger pupils. (21) (22) They also have significantly greater light-induced melatonin suppression, with younger children having the greatest circadian-system sensitivity to light exposures. (23)This biological connection means that by introducing sunlight to classrooms, students and teachers can feel more energized and have greater psychological wellbeing. Studies show that poor lighting is associated with eyestrain, fatigue, headaches, and reduced alertness. (24)

Thermal comfort

Thermal comfort is the perception of comfort with respect to temperature, air movement, and humidity. (25) Children are more sensitive to higher temperatures than adults because of their higher core body temperature and less developed thermoregulation capabilities. (26) Many factors impact personal comfort including gender, age, activity level, size, metabolic rate, and insulation through clothing. (27) (28) Studies have found student learning and performance are sensitive to both extreme cold and extreme heat in the classroom. (29) (30)Good thermal comfort can also apply outdoors on school playgrounds, when there is increased physical activity and heat exposure. (31) Viruses like influenza can spread more easily in cold weather and in low humidity environments. (32)

Acoustics

School acoustics often focus specifically on the traditional classroom, where up to 60 percent of activities involve verbal communication between teachers and students. (33) Proper acoustic design should not be isolated to the learning space; all rooms in the school are affected by acoustics and ultimately impact students’ health. For instance, gymnasiums typically have hard surfaces that bounce noise around the space, often exceeding the noise threshold associated with heightened risk for hearing loss. (34)For students in art and music classes, research found children in poor acoustic environments tend to be less creative and focused. (35)

Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a composition of particle and gaseous indoor pollutant that can be controlled by the mechanical system or natural ventilation. (36) IAQ also requires regulating humidity, indoor temperature, and moisture. (37) Studies have shown that poor indoor air quality in classrooms can be associated with headaches, dizziness, asthma, and absenteeism, as well as poor student attendance and test scores. (29) (38) (39) (40) (41) (42) There are easy solutions. HVAC systems with airborne particle removal, air conditioning, and personal thermal control have been associated with improvements in performance. (43)

Nature

Direct contact with nature and natural views has psychological and physical impacts on student and teacher well-being and productivity. (44) (45) Access and views to nature can provide a calmer, safer context for learning. (46) Access to nature restores attention function, specifically green views and biophilic design, have been shown to improve memory, creativity, and attention, as well as reduce stress and absenteeism. (47) (48) One of the biggest benefits of being outdoors is that it creates a stimulating learning environment that breaks up the day. Physical movement can allow for students to exert stored energy, thus limiting potential outbursts.