Asked & Answered Mike Mertens, AAEA Assistant Executive Director The question was twofold, "What's the deadline for districts to give the Annual Report to the Public each year?" and "What information is required to be in the Annual Report?" Both questions are answered in Standard 3-B.2 of the Standards for Accreditation. Each public school district board of directors shall systematically and, at least annually, explain its policies, programs, and goals to the community in a public meeting that provides opportunities for parents and other members of the community to ask questions and make suggestions concerning the school program in accordance with the laws of the State of Arkansas and DESE rules. The report shall detail the progress of the district and schools toward accomplishing program goals, accreditation standards, and proposals to correct deficiencies. The report shall be made available to the public and the public shall be notified of the meeting. So, the Annual Report may be given any time during the year. Also, districts have broad latitude on developing the specifics of the report as long as the report details the progress of the district and schools toward accomplishing program goals, accreditation standards, and proposals to correct deficiencies. A few other reminders. According to Standard B.2.1, the annual report to the public shall be posted on the district website under State – Required Information no later than 10 days after the public meeting is held. Also, a common practice is for districts to have the Annual Report to the Public in conjunction with a regular board meeting.
If you have questions for Mike, email him at m.mertens@theaaea.org.
A Breath of Fresh Air Air Quality and Cognitive Function By Protect Ed in EdWeek, Submitted by Ashley Creviston, Protect Ed The importance of air quality goes beyond health benefits. Clean air has been shown to impact cognitive function in students as well. By ensuring students have clean air to breathe, schools can better position students for future academic success. According to Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s “Schools for Health” report, contaminated air may hamper learning by compromising brain development, triggering illnesses that impact attendance and disrupting students’ attention. In fact, there is a direct correlation with test scores: • According to a study from the London School of Economics, tracking 2,400 university students who took 11,000 exams at multiple locations over multiple days, poor air quality compromised test results even when pollution levels fell well below EPA standards. • In a Texas school district, test scores rose after 66 schools were renovated to improve air quality, including removing mold and improving ventilation. 5
• An estimated 46% of U.S. public schools, (about 60,000 school buildings) faced air-quality challenges prior to the pandemic. — Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s “Schools for Health” Report • Indoor air is 5-10x more contaminated than outdoor air. Over the course of a K-12 education, a child will spend more than 15,000 hours at school. Classrooms, cafeterias, libraries and gymnasiums, even when cleaned to high standards, are reservoirs for biological and chemical contaminants. Children have lungs that are still developing and narrow airways, so it is critically important to ensure the air they breathe is clean. By improving air quality, schools are better able to keep kids learning in the classroom, reducing absenteeism while having a positive impact an academic performance.
