America’s school districts and universities are fighting through a historic event with impact on students and society at large. The impact of 2020 still cannot be measured on students, but education leaders understand that getting back on track in student achievement adds to the pressure of maintaining budgets and ensuring healthier learning environments.
As you welcome back students, faculty, staff and visitors, consistent implementation of effective strategies for preventing the transmission of COVID-19, flu and other viruses during all school-related activities will be critical for reopening schools—and keeping them open.
Reopening Expectations and Guidelines
To reopen safely, schools will be implementing strategic, integrated health and safety solutions that not only comply with, but enhance national, state and local public health measures. As education leaders prepare for students and staff to return, the CDC recommends schools continue to use the current COVID-19 prevention strategies for the 2020-2021 school year.
● Ventilation: Improve ventilation to the extent possible to increase circulation of outdoor air, increase the delivery of clean air, and dilute potential contaminants.
● Cleaning: Regularly clean high touch surfaces and objects at least daily or between use as much as possible.
● Communal spaces: Close communal use of shared spaces if possible; otherwise, stagger use and clean regularly (for example, daily or as often as needed).
Solutions for Now
In working with rural and urban school districts and universities of all sizes across the country, ABM solutions are shaped around the needs of your students, community and priorities. We work to optimize your institution’s overall approach to facility management, from custodial cleaning and disinfection to improving indoor air quality and maximizing efficiencies. Our solutions work to help you redirect funds to focus on student success, which is more critical now than ever
Improve Indoor Air Quality
With more research indicating that COVID-19 is spread through the air, a greater emphasis is being placed on understanding the risk in your schools and taking steps on managing filtration and clean air return.
Designed in collaboration with an Advisory Council of independent experts in infectious disease, industrial hygiene and engineering, ABM EnhancedFacilityTM helps you understand risk factors in your buildings while improving indoor air quality. Our proprietary Healthy Building Risk Assessment identifies IAQ challenges and recommends solutions at a building-by-building level to assess system performance, handle preventative maintenance, and make recommendations to optimize building health and create energy cost savings.
Maintain Cleaning and Disinfection Protocols
The ABM EnhancedCleanTM program helps provide students, staff and visitors safer, healthier learning environments while helping to control the spread of viruses and pathogens on surfaces and in shared spaces. For the coming school year, these protocols will help stop the spread of the flu, colds and well as COVID-19 and emerging variants.
Our certified disinfection program was developed alongside independent experts in infectious disease and industrial hygiene and our training program for Facilitators is accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANSI/ASTM E2659-18) and proven to adhere to rigorous third-party standards.
Maximize Stimulus Funding
Federal stimulus funds provide districts with a mechanism to help students and teachers while also creating healthier learning environments. We have solutions that help districts achieve these goals while also generating ongoing savings to reinvest in student and educational priorities.
ABM is helping education leaders across the country maximize their federal funding. Our education and Stimulus Solutions experts work to strategically identify the greatest needs of students, staff and the community so that all available funds may be appropriated to meet the greatest number of needs. We ensure projects qualify for funding requirements and deadlines and also provide guidance on other funding options and potential new revenue sources.
Diverse Ways to Stabilize Your Schools: Districts have latitude to use stimulus funds for any activity allowed under other federal education laws, including:
● Training staff on the best ways to sanitize schools and proper use of PPE
● Purchasing PPE and supplies to clean and disinfect schools
● Repairing school facilities, especially ventilation systems, to improve air quality and reduce spread of COVID-19
● Providing resources that principals need to address coronavirus at their schools
Partnering to Help Your Students Thrive
ABM education teams are ready to develop and implement new solutions to address your district’s needs for health and safety, funding, and generating new savings and efficiency—all to focus more of your valuable budget and time on student success.
Learn more about how ABM’s specialized expertise and comprehensive facility and funding solutions can help your students and staff thrive now and for years to come.
Our K12 Action Plan and Higher Ed Action plan deliver the insights and solutions needed to help education leaders across the country create healthier, more cost-efficient learning environments.
Daniel Dowell is the Senior Vice President of Education Solutions at ABM
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