Image retrieved from: https://insiderlouisville.

com/government/bullitt-co-schools-save-millions-
through-energy-efficiency/
Project Summary
Heating and air conditioning issues in Baltimore City Public Schools can have long
lasting effects on the students attending these schools. The poor environments can negatively
impact student learning, putting them at a serious disadvantage as they progress through their
lives. Problems with heating and air conditioning units can lead to mold and exposure to
microbial agents.

As part of the project outlined below, with your organization’s assistance, new air
conditioning and heating units would be installed in the Baltimore City Public Schools that have
been, thus far, ignored. Plans will be made to provide regular maintenance and upkeep to both
the new units and those that are already in place.

The success of this project will not just be dependent upon the improvement of student
learning environments, but the continual improvement of student performance. We will monitor
the classroom temperatures, the performances of the students, and the overall satisfaction of
faculty and students for a planned period of five years. If after those five years, we have
determined this project to be a success and all parties are satisfied, we will leave the door open
for additional collaborations.

Introduction
Imagine it’s the dead of winter. A stiff breeze whips through the air, pushing around
small mounds of snow that remain from the previous storm’s treacherous assault. Thankfully,
you’re safely inside, protected from the harsh winter weather outside. You are protected from the
cold. At least you should be. Instead, the air is just as frigid as it is outside the walls that should
be providing protection. Where would you imagine this setting to be? It’s certainly not a present
environment; where we have all the modern conveniences we’ve grown accustomed to. It
couldn’t possibly be a classroom, where teachers are hard at work trying to shape and mold the
young minds of the next generation.

Alas, this is exactly where you are. The students, each wrapped in a blanket, are trying
desperately to keep warm. The lucky ones, anyway. Each child’s breath visible when the warm
moisture meets the harsh, cold air. A small space heater fails at its miserable attempt to keep the
entire space of this large classroom warm. A shivering teacher stands at the center of the room,
stammering as he/she read from the textbook they are so desperately trying to teach from.
Imagine you are this teacher being tasked with holding the attention of each of these children. Or
worse yet, that this is one of your children. Or a friend’s child. Eager to learn. But impeded by
the cold that surrounds them. A cold that should not be.

Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality for many young boys and girls attending schools in
Baltimore City. A harsh reality shared by the teachers who valiantly try to reach these children. I
am writing as a representative of the schools of Baltimore City. I represent both the faculty and
the students who share in the susceptibility to the weather-related elements due to heating and air
conditioning issues that plague many city schools.
 These teachers should not be forced to have to fight these conditions to teach these
children. These children should not be forced to learn in such cruel conditions. These teachers
are members of our community. Our friends. Our family. The students attending these classes are
our future. Our future does not stand a chance if they are not given one.

Statement of Need
Prior attempts have been made to fund upgrades for these schools that are in dire need of
upgrades. Some have been successful. Some have not. Several Baltimore City Public Schools
remain without a fixed plan to address these issues. Pleas have been made to local politicians.
Leaving this in the hands of local politicians hasn’t worked up to this point. Unfortunately, when
it comes to education budgets, the thought process has been that there are more pressing things to
spend money.

Caught in the middle of this constant struggle, the students find themselves voiceless.
And powerless. Their learning environments have been left unstable and unsuitable for teaching.
Classrooms that should be deemed too cold to be taught in during the winter months are ignored.
There are too many schools that oftentimes close during the hottest of days late in the school
year. This further disrupts learning ability by disrupting the students’ routines. That’s just the
days where it’s deemed too hot to hold classes. Other days, the schools remain open, but it
remains unbearable for student and faculty alike.
Teachers have made small efforts to gather funds from other sources. GoFundMe pages
have been set up. Faculty members have reached out to high-standing members of the
communities in an effort to draw further attention to this issue. Alas, the efforts, while
commendable, have been in vain. The little bit of funds and donations made to these efforts has
not been enough to make the necessary fixes.

This issue needs to be addressed and it needs to be addressed now. These children’s
needs cannot be ignored any longer. The longer this problem is ignored, the more children that
are going to be unable to learn the skills that will take them to the next level. As they age, they
will be unable to develop the skills or have the knowledge necessary to carry them through life.
People will blame them for their short-comings, when their inability could be easily fixed.

With just a handful of air conditioning and heating upgrades, these schools could function
as they should. As most other public schools have the ability to. Beyond that, regular
maintenance on these and the existing school heating and air conditioning units can ensure that
these students have a fair shot at proper educational opportunities.
Goals and Objectives
1. Install new heating and air conditioning units in schools that are without adequate
heating/AC.
 Assess the quality of heating and air conditioning units in Baltimore City
Public Schools that do not yet have a fixed plan.
 Implement a plan with a realistic timeframe to install new units. Hopefully,
this can be done throughout the summer, when the student presence will be
limited.

2. Make any repairs that are deemed necessary to existing units.

 During the time that units are being assessed, make sure to note the units that
need repairs.
 Work with the schools to find adequate times to make the necessary repairs. It
may not be feasible to make these repairs during school hours, especially
during days with peak weather extremes.

3. Monitor the temperature of the schools to ensure effectiveness.

 Temperature sensors should already be available in all classrooms. If they are
not, they should be installed for easy monitoring.
 Data from these temperature sensors should be closely monitored, especially
on days with peak weather extremes to ensure that the effectiveness of the
units.
 Interview school faculty to ensure that the units are working to their liking.

4. Provide regular maintenance to both older and newer units.

 Regularly monitor the units.
 Teach school custodians on how to check to ensure there aren’t any problems
with the units.
 Make HVAC staff available to make any emergency repairs that need to be
done.

Review of Literature
There are multiple issues that arise for public schools that have major heating and air
conditioning issues. Scientific studies have shown that classroom environment affects student
achievement (Cheryan and Ziegler, 2014). In a 2015 article, ventilation rate and classroom
temperatures were shown to influence student test scores (Haverinen-Shaughnessy and
Shaughnessy, 2015).
 In addition to inadequate classroom temperatures, these heating and AC problems can
have other adverse effects on classroom environments. Leaking pipes from poorly maintained
heating and cooling units can
increase dampness and moisture in the
indoor environment. Excess moisture in
damp indoor environments can promote
microbial proliferation and can result in
exposure to microbial agents (Cho; Cox‐
Ganser; Park, 2016).

Image of mold on a brick wall

Image retrieved from: https://www.mold-
help.org/category/mold-news/mold-and-sick-buildings/

Indoor exposures to air pollutants, including particulate matter, allergens, oxides of

nitrogen, endotoxin, and mold, have been associated with impaired health and performance in
children and adults (Breysse et al., 2005, Gaffin and Phipatanakul, 2009, Kanchongkittiphon et
al., 2015, McCormack et al., 2009, Niemela et al., 2006). Some of the issues that arise from the
effects of poor heating and air conditioning in public schools can contribute to an increase in
these indoor air pollutants. An article published in 2019 suggests that improving school
conditions, including room heating/cooling, may result in significantly improved air quality and
healthier environments in schools (Majd et al., 2019).

Some public schools in Baltimore City are pegged for heating/AC upgrades over the
coming years. Other schools, however, are not currently pegged for such upgrades, despite an
immediate need, leaving the students in those schools vulnerable to the potential problems laid
out above.

This makes the need for a better plan all the more urgent. It is imperative that we
implement a strategy for quickly assessing the need for upgrades for the schools that are not
currently planned to receive improved heating/AC units, and to assess the need for improvement
to existing functional heating/AC units in Baltimore City public schools. It is equally important,
if not more important, to implement a plan to provide regular maintenance for these units to
avoid any future issues.

Project Details
As stated above, the first step of our strategy is to assess the quality of the air
conditioning and heating units that currently exist in Baltimore City Public Schools. We will
need you to provide members of your staff to inspect each school’s unit and provide an
assessment of each unit. We will defer to you to determine how long this will take, but we are
hoping this can be done within one month.
 Those that need minor repairs and maintenance will take priority, so long as the repairs
can be done while school remains in session. Plans will be made to replace units during the
summer months, while the student presence is limited.

Upon completion of repairs and replacement of these units, our custodial staff will be
made available for mandatory training sessions with members of your staff on routine
maintenance procedures for the units. We will ensure that custodial staff is made available for as
many training sessions as deemed necessary.

Classroom temperature will be monitored using temperature sensors that are already
available in most of our school’s classrooms. Those classrooms that have not yet had sensors
installed will have them installed during the repair/installation phase of this project, so that
regular temperature monitoring can take place following the repair/installation phase.

Materials
1) New AC/heating units (hopefully donated or offered at a discounted price)

2) Tools and other materials necessary for unit repair

3) Replacement pipes

4) Ventilation pieces

5) Temperature sensors

Budget
Estimated
Materials Quantity cost
Temperature sensors 100 $10,000.00
HVAC staff (both for training sessions and installation/repair of uints) n/a $55,000.00
Replacement units/tools for repair (all of which we are hoping can be donated) n/a $0.00

Assessment of Project Success

Several steps will be implemented to properly assess the success of this project.
Classroom temperature will be closely monitored using temperature sensors. The optimal
temperature range for learning appears to be between 68°F and 74°F (Cheryan and Ziegler,
2014). The improvement of the teaching environments is one aspect of this project that we will
be keeping an eye on. In addition to using the temperature sensors as a gauge of a success, we
will hold regular interview sessions with our teachers and faculty to ensure that the teaching
environments are meeting their standards.
 The real success of this project will come down to not just improved classroom
conditions, but whether or not student performance improves. Student performance will be
monitored by looking at a combined number of factors, including classroom behavior,
attendance, and test scores. These will be compared to prior years to ensure that student
performance has improved. We will consider even the slightest improvement in these areas to be
a success.

Timeline
1st month – Assessment of air conditioning and heating units in Baltimore City public schools.

2nd month to 4th month (or end of the school year, whichever comes first) – repairs and
maintenance performed on units deemed to be functional.

5th month to 8th month (Presumably coinciding with the summer months to ensure limited student
presence) – Replace units deemed obsolete/nonfunctional.

9th month – Training sessions with school custodial staff regarding regular maintenance and
troubleshooting for the newly installed or updated units.

10th month to year 2 – Regular temperature monitoring for city school’s classrooms. Any
problems/repairs that arise will be resolved with the assistance of your staff, when they are
available.

Year 2 to year 5 – Classroom temperature will continue to be monitored. Student performances

will be tracked to ensure project success, and staff will be interviewed about classroom
conditions.
 References
Cheryan, Sapna; Ziegler, Sianna A. (2014, October 1). Designing Classrooms to Maximize
Student Achievement Policy Insights from Social and Personality Psychology Volume 1 Issue 1
pp. 4–12
Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2372732214548677

Haverinen-Shaughnessy U, Shaughnessy RJ (2015, August 28). Effects of Classroom Ventilation

Rate and Temperature on Students’ Test Scores. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0136165.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0136165
Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0136165

Cho, S. J.; Cox‐ Ganser, J. M.; Park, J.‐ H. (2015). Observational scores of dampness and mold
associated with measurements of microbial agents and moisture in three public schools Indoor
Air. Apr2016, Vol. 26 Issue 2, p168-178. 11p. DOI: 10.1111/ina.12191

P.N. Breysse, T.J. Buckley, D.A. Williams, C.M.Beck, S.-J. Jo, B. Merriman, A.M. Butz (2005).
Indoor exposures to air pollutants and allergens in the homes of asthmatic children in inner-city
Baltimore Environ. Res., 98 (2) (2005), pp. 167-176

J.M. Gaffin, W. Phipatanakul (2009) The role of indoor allergens in the development of asthma
Curr. Opin. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 9 (2)(2009), pp. 128-135

W. Kanchongkittiphon, M.J. Mendell, J.M.Gaffin, G. Wang, W. Phipatanakul (2015). Indoor

environmental exposures and exacerbation of asthma: an update to the 2000 review by the
institute of medicine Environ. Health Perspect., 123 (1) (2015), pp. 6-20, 10.1289/ehp.1307922

M.C. McCormack, P.N. Breysse, E.C. Matsui, N.N. Hansel, D.A. Williams, J. Curtin-
Brosnan, G.B. Diette (2009) In-home particle concentrations and childhood asthma morbidity
Environ. Health Perspect., 117 (2) (2009), p. 294

R. Niemela, O. Seppanen, P. Korhonen, K.Reijula (2006) Prevalence of building-related

symptoms as an indicator of health and productivity Am. J. Ind. Med., 49 (10) (2006), pp. 819-
825, 10.1002/ajim.20370

Majd, Ehsan; McCormack, Meredith; Davis, Meghan; Curriero, Frank; Berman, Jesse; Connolly,
Faith; Leaf, Philip; Rule, Ana; Green, Timothy; Clemons-Erby, Dorothy; Gummerson, Christine;
Koehler, Kirsten (2019). Indoor air quality in inner-city schools and its associations with
building characteristics and environmental factors Environmental Research. Mar2019, Vol. 170,
p83-91. 9p. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.12.012.