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School system applied for air quality award

Remember how odd it struck many that Guilford County Schools would win an award from the EPA considering the issues being reported at Oak Ridge Elementary? Here’s the link to the original post.

Well here’s the reply I got from the EPA when I asked who nominated the school district for the award.

Brian,

It's a self-nomination process. The school completes the short application and a short narrative describing their current actions and commitments towards establishing a comprehensive IAQ management program and future action plans for their IAQ management plan implementation.
Applications are then evaluated based on whether applicant schools have demonstrated that an IAQ Coordinator and/or an IAQ Team have been established.

Dave Ryan
EPA Washington Headquarters Press Officer
PHONE: 202-564-7827
E-MAIL: ryan.dave@epa.gov

I replied asking how many other nominations the EPA had for the award during that period. I'll update when I get an answer.

So you might wonder, was this just an attempt by school officials to make angry and scared parents at Oak Ridge feel a little better about the work being done at the school?

If there isn’t a problem with air quality at Oak Ridge, as some have claimed, then aside from just doing all the work GCS is doing at Oak Ridge (here’s an update on that by the way) then will the work alone make people feel safe? Wouldn’t getting an award for that work help those folks feel safer? Might that make the work seem even more important and correct in the minds of those who fear the school is dangerous?

Then again, maybe Leo Bobadilla, the school system’s chief of operations, and his team learned a lot from this experience about indoor air quality, the threats it poses and how to address it. If so, is it any wonder they might want a little recognition for that? Isn’t that why the EPA has the award in the first place?

Here’s what Nora Carr had to say about it when I asked today.
 

Brian--heard you were looking for a comment.

Most awards are self-nominated--the company, CEO, CIO, advertising agency, newspaper, TV station, or in our case, teacher, principal, or other district administrator fills out an application--just as newspapers have to submit articles for consideration for the Pulitzer prize and other programs. The key is that these applications must meet specific criteria and standards set forth by the group making the award. Generally the purpose is not only to recognize good work, but to help educate everyone about the standards and what constitutes good work according to those in the profession.

Improving indoor air quality is a major initiative for GCS, and part of our strategic plan strategy to improve operational efficiency and productivity, particularly when it comes to energy management. Finding new and better ways of recognizing employees for the work they do is also part of our strategic plan.

This recognition acknowledges both of these issues.

1) We are using the EPA Tools for Schools process to guide this work at the district, school and departmental levels, so it made sense to submit what we've done so far to see whether what we're doing (and what we plan to do) is on the mark; and, 2) acknowledges the team's efforts thus far in the process, and provides them with a well-deserved pat on the back for "the great start" on this important effort.