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Case Study: Poor Air Quality Increases Miami Student Absences by 20%
- kimberlygeschke
- Feb 7
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 19
Key Highlights:
📊 Schools with professional air quality monitoring report up to 15-20% reduction in respiratory-related absences
🌡️ Poor indoor air quality directly impacts student health, leading to increased sick days and decreased performance
🌿 Green cleaning practices combined with air monitoring can reduce harmful VOCs by up to 50%
📱 Real-time air quality monitoring allows for immediate response to environmental concerns
💰 Improved attendance rates directly correlate with increased school funding and better academic outcomes
🌴 Miami's unique climate requires specialized approaches to air quality management
A Florida superintendent recently called it a national crisis that is impacting schools and districts in Central Florida. The numbers are alarming: Thousands of students are chronically absent, and the statewide average is between 19% and 23%.
Some of your students miss 21 days or more of school every year. Your student’s biggest obstacles when getting to school may not be what you think is causing your attendance levels to plummet. Stay till the end of this blog and you’ll never believe how this mystery unfolds into the solution you need.
You may feel frustrated, overwhelmed, and personally responsible for the recent deaths in the news of teachers and the ongoing meetings you have had with your students and their families coping with the loss.
Unbeknown to you, your students may be carrying a mysterious illness responsible for the empty desks you see day after day.
You already know student attendance's role in academic success, but here’s the secret no one tells you about. Many counties in Florida are overlooking a key contributing factor: indoor air quality (IAQ). Research shows that poor IAQ can significantly affect students' health and learning, leading to increased absences and reduced academic performance.
Here’s something you probably didn’t know…
Standing water and black mold in a building’s air handler have resulted in faculty staff expressing student health concerns. One of the school’s veteran teachers mysteriously comes down with a high fever, headache, muscle aches, shortness of breath, and chills & sweats. She is suddenly intubated, on dialysis, organs begin to fail, and she dies after four days of being in intensive care.
This story is real and was only a few months ago at the Pasadena Fundamental Elementary School in St. Petersburg. Katherine Pennington’s empty chair in the classroom is a daily reminder of the dangers of poor indoor air quality and how it affects more than just your students.
From the first time your new teachers set foot in their classrooms, you may have noticed that they are coughing more than normal and dismiss it as the common cold. On your rounds, you see mold out of the corner of your eye on some of the walls and ceiling tiles. A quick fix of Clorox wipes does the trick but then over the next few days and months new symptoms surface.
Your teachers report changes to vision, fatigue, sense of smell, and that they are dripping with sweat when it's only 10 degrees outside. You know something is wrong but dismiss it as new year anxiety and depression. When your concerns are made to the school board, you realize that the school district mold testing is just air testing and there is no cloth testing done.
The air test finds random spores of mold but even that is not enough to cause any alarm and have them do any modifications to the building. They tell you the building might cause sensitivities in your students and staff. Fear consumes you as suddenly you realize that hundreds of students have been sent to the nurses office for random nose bleeds and that the air they are breathing could possibly be making them sick.
In Miami's unique climate, where humidity and environmental factors create distinct challenges, maintaining optimal air quality becomes even more critical. Schools with compromised IAQ often report higher rates of asthma attacks, respiratory issues, and general illness.
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Best Air Quality Monitoring Practices for Miami Schools
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The Impact of Green Cleaning on Student Attendance
Schools have changed dramatically over the past 75 years. In the 1950s, schools were open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Some modern-day schools are open 24 hours a day, making it challenging for the custodial staff. Less money is available for the custodial staff, and the mantra “work smarter, not harder” has caused fears and frustrations about potential job loss.
Students spend 4-8 hours in a classroom and the indoor air quality can be an issue as they learn & breathe in potentially harmful bacteria. A green clean environment has a life-changing impact on student performance. The key elements to a successful green school initiative are quality standards and a training program for your custodians.
Schools implementing professional air quality monitoring typically see:
Download for Free the Miami Schools’ Ultimate Guide to Indoor Air Quality Management Air Quality Guide!
How Miami’s Climate Can Exacerbate Chronic Student Absenteeism
Socioeconomic factors and infrastructure challenges play a crucial role in how effective your school building is in mitigating climate change. Hurricanes, power outages, flooding, and extreme heat affects your lower-income and minority students, likely due to less access to air conditioning at home and school. These racial and socioeconomic gaps can show up in lower attendance numbers and struggling academic performance.
Outdated or inadequate HVAC systems in schools can contribute to poor indoor air quality and an uncomfortable learning environment. This prolonged exposure to high temperatures and humidity can impact your student’s health, leading to heat-related illnesses and increased absences over time. The chronic nature of heat exposure in Miami may further contribute to ongoing attendance issues throughout the year, not just during peak temperature days.
By understanding these climate-related factors contributing to chronic absenteeism in Miami, schools and policymakers can work towards implementing targeted interventions to improve attendance rates and reduce the disproportionate impact on vulnerable student populations.
Best Practices for Schools
EPA guidelines recommend the following approaches:
Immediate Actions:
Risk-Free Assessment 🏫
Protect Your Students: Risk-Free Indoor Air Quality Assessment for Miami Schools
Taking Action Against Poor Air Quality for Healthier Schools
As Miami's educational institutions continue to prioritize student success, partnering with experienced commercial cleaning services becomes increasingly crucial. Professional air quality monitoring, combined with expert cleaning services, creates healthier learning environments that support regular attendance and academic achievement.
Ready to Improve Your School's Air Quality?
Contact our team to learn more about our comprehensive air quality monitoring and commercial cleaning services. We'll help you create a healthier environment that promotes student attendance and success.
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