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excellence awards

To learn more about EPA's awards and download applications:

IAQ TfS Award Winners

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You can find local award winners.  Use the national map, just click on your state.

Envisioning Excellence presents the Framework for Effective School IAQ Programs: Six Key Drivers -- guidelines that detail the organizational approaches and practices that are fundamental to school IAQ program success -- and presents five profiles to demonstrate how different school districts applied the Framework to create enduring IAQ programs. Learn more about this exciting tool.

Get the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF files linked on this page.  See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

Does your school district have an outstanding indoor air quality (IAQ) management program?  Do you think your IAQ Program is among the best in the nation? If so, EPA encourages your school district to apply for one of its highest honors recognizing exemplary school IAQ management programs, the IAQ Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) National Excellence Award. Each year, EPA awards some of the highest performing school districts in the country for their outstanding IAQ  management programs. These programs consistently demonstrate a commitment to student and staff health and wellness and have proven that a proactive IAQ management program can have a positive, lasting impact on the school, the staff and students, and the entire community.

We invite you to join us to demonstrate that effective school IAQ management programs can improve the health, satisfaction, and performance of the many millions of children and adults who work and learn in our nation’s schools.

Contents

Benefits of the IAQ TfS National Excellence Award

The IAQ TfS National Excellence Award is a prestigious symbol of school environmental excellence.  2008 National Excellence Award winners will be publicly recognized at the IAQ TfS National Symposium in Washington, DC, December 4-6, 2008, and will receive:

Application Overview

The key to winning an EPA IAQ TfS National Excellence Award is to demonstrate that your program incorporates the Framework for School IAQ Program Success. Years of research and analysis has revealed that a clear framework that consists of Six Key Drivers underlies highly effective school IAQ management programs. To demonstrate that a program merits a National Excellence Award, applicants should show and describe how they apply the Six Key Drivers of the Framework to their IAQ Programs so that EPA can evaluate the degree to which the Key Drivers shape the program and make it effective and sustainable.

We know that there are typical strategies for implementing the Key Drivers; IAQ programs with the Key Drivers in place tend to share common characteristics. The criteria for evaluating a National Excellence Award application are designed to evaluate if and how completely those effective strategies are applied by applicants. By sharing these evaluation criteria with applicants and then looking for evidence that aligns with these criteria in the application, comprehensive, effective school IAQ programs that are on the road to long-term sustainability will be recognized.

Eligibility Criteria

Recipients of the National Excellence Award are selected through a competitive process. To qualify for an award, applicants must be from (or submit on behalf of) a school district. Eligible applicants will be evaluated on their ability to demonstrate a continued commitment to student and staff health as evidenced by:

bullet Senior management commitment to sustaining a comprehensive IAQ program and providing a healthy and safe school environment as evidenced by a Letter of Commitment from a school district administrator.  Download a sample Letter of Commitment PDF Version (PDF, 1 page, 717KB) | MS Word Version (DOC, 1 page, 150KB)
 
bullet Effective, comprehensive IAQ management program that is consistent with U.S. EPA’s IAQ TfS Program and embodies the Framework for IAQ Program Success.
 
bullet Results (qualitative and/or quantitative) demonstrating the IAQ program’s impact on the environment, student and staff health, performance, and/or productivity.

Evaluation Process

A panel of government experts in IAQ, EPA’s IAQ TfS program, children’s health, and school-based environment, safety, and health issues will review National Excellence Award applications. Applicants will be judged solely on the information in their applications. In making award decisions, the panel will evaluate applications based on the degree to which the program addresses the National Excellence Award Evaluation Criteria (PDF, 2 pp, 729KB)

Note:  If you use the auto form feature of these PDF files, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5 or above.  Go to www.adobe.com exiting EPA to download the latest free reader.

Instructions for Applying

As you complete this application, please note the following:

Complete application packages may be submitted:

Via E-mail: awardscoordinator@cadmusgroup.com

By Mail: IAQ Tools for Schools Awards Coordinator
                c/o The Cadmus Group, Inc.
                1600 Wilson Blvd., Suite 500
                Arlington, VA 22209

Notification Process

Upon receipt of your application materials, you will receive a confirmation e-mail.  This e-mail will provide further detailed information about when applicants should expect to learn of their award status.

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