Children spend up to 40% of their waking hours in classrooms that often exceed the WHO limits for safe air quality. On smoky or high-pollution days, this gets even worse. Research shows that cleaner air in schools is linked to fewer sick days, sharper focus, and stronger learning outcomes.
In this free pilot, we will collaborate with your school to keep bad air outside, track and measure air quality improvements, and help set the standard for a healthy and equitable indoor environment.
What your school gets
- Cleaner air for students and staff during the pilot
- Clear, shareable data from your own classrooms
- The option to keep the system in place afterward
- A role in helping define what healthy school air can look like
What we want to learn
The pilot will show how much cleaner indoor air can stay compared with outdoor air when positive pressure air ventilation systems are running.
Through continuous measurement with air quality sensors, we will gain an understanding of how the systems perform day-to-day and during pollution spikes, such as wildfire smoke days. The pilot will also surface practical lessons about installing and running the system in a real school setting that can then be used to establish a baseline for broader school implementations.
What participation looks like
The pilot is designed to be low-lift for schools. One classroom with a positive pressure system installed is enough to observe change in air quality, though implementation in a few classrooms is even better if space allows.
Installation usually takes about half a day and is scheduled around your calendar. The pilot then runs for 4 weeks, with the system operating quietly in the background.
What we provide at no cost
We handle the equipment, installation, and monitoring so participation is easy for your school. Included in the pilot is:
- All equipment and professional installation
- Indoor and outdoor air quality sensors
- Ongoing monitoring, plus a clear summary of results
- A dedicated point of contact from start to finish
How it works
Positive pressure ventilation gently pushes filtered air into the room and holds the indoor air at slightly higher pressure than the air outside. That pressure helps seal out smoke, dust, and fine particle pollution. It is a proven approach already used in settings like hospitals, adapted here for schools and other learning environments.
The system is self-contained and does not require any changes to your existing HVAC. However, if your school experiences wildfire smoke or other heavy environmental impact, we are happy to work with your team to make additional HVAC adjustments.
Timeline
- Planning: a brief call and a quick site walkthrough
- Installation: about a day to set up the system and sensors, scheduled around your calendar
- Monitoring: about four weeks of continuous measurement, indoors and out
- Results: a clear summary and a conversation about next steps
Apply to be a pilot school
We believe every student deserves to breathe safely while learning. Thank you for your interest in piloting better air solutions with the Clean Air for Schools Fund! To get started or ask questions, reach out to:
Megan Groves
Senior Advisor
Renaissance Philanthropy, Clean Air for Schools Fund
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1-650-761-2174
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