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Research establishes a direct link between classroom air quality and student attendance rates through a comprehensive study of 144 classrooms across 31 Midwestern elementary schools. The findings provide compelling evidence that improved ventilation and lower PM2.5 levels significantly reduce illness-related absences, even at pollution levels previously considered acceptable.

• For every 1 L/s/person increase in ventilation rate, classrooms experienced 5.6 fewer absence days annually
• Average school ventilation rate (5.5 L/s/person) fell below ASHRAE's recommended standard of 7 L/s/person
• Each 1 μg/m³ increase in indoor PM2.5 corresponded to over 7 additional absence days per classroom per year
• Negative health effects occurred at PM2.5 levels below previous "acceptable" thresholds (mean: 3.6 μg/m³)
• Investing in school HVAC improvements represents a direct intervention to improve student attendance and achievement
• Benefits extend beyond education to public health, academic equity, and economic advantages for families
• Improved ventilation and filtration systems build resilience against future airborne health challenges

Thank you to our sponsors, SafeTraces, for making this podcast possible. See you next week for another One Take!

Associations between illness-related absences and ventilation and indoor 
PM2.5 in elementary schools of the Midwestern United States

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