Last Updated: January 2023

Author: Envision Program, Vermont Department of Health

Helping schools maintain a healthy environment for students, teachers, and staff is a priority for the State of Vermont. Chemicals used inside the school or on school grounds may contribute to poor indoor air quality that can hurt student and teacher performance and result in missed school days.

The Envision Program – Promoting Healthy School Environments was created from Act 125. It helps schools identify, prevent, and problem-solve potential environmental health and indoor air quality issues by providing a model environmental health management plan and policy. Envision gives schools the tools, training, and technical assistance to create and maintain a healthier school environment.

Healthy schools are more than ensuring good indoor air quality in school buildings. Creating a healthy school includes reducing exposure to other toxic substances, particularly asbestos, lead, radon and PCBs.

The most effective way for a school to create and maintain a healthy school environment is to conduct a school environmental health walkthrough.

Poor indoor air quality in schools has been linked to decreased student and teacher performance and increased absenteeism. Poor indoor air quality can also result in acute symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headache, nausea, and lethargy, and chronic conditions—such as asthma and allergies.

This indicator is part of Healthy Vermonters 2020 (which documents the health status of Vermonters at the start of the decade and the population health indicators and goals that will guide the work of public health through 2020.

The Envision Program is accomplished as a joint effort by Vermont’s departments of Health and Buildings & General Services, and the Agency of Education, which work together to:

• Create and maintain a clearinghouse of environmental health information on the Health Department’s website
• Provide technical assistance to schools
• Provide workshops on environmental health for school personnel
• Develop a model environmental health plan and policy
• Encourage and assist schools in developing programs that will enable them to address and prevent environmental health issues through voluntary participation.

The Envision Program also partners with Efficiency Vermont and Informed Green Solutions to improve indoor air quality and reduce or eliminate hazardous exposures in Vermont schools.

The most effective way for a school to create and maintain a healthy school environment is to conduct a school environmental health walkthrough. Walkthroughs are conducted in-person by the Envision Coordinator or by school staff using the self-guided inspection checklist. 

Successful schools use a Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) team (or other school health/wellness team) to review the findings of the walkthrough, prioritize concerns, and make recommendations to address any environmental health problems that were identified.

The Envision Program works to educate school personnel on the importance of creating and maintaining a healthy school environment by providing them with walkthrough checklists, training, technical assistance, and other resources.

The Envision Program and the Asthma Program collaboarate to integrate school environmental health walkthroughs into the Asthma Friendly School application. This type of cross promotion allows both programs to reach more schools.

Data is updated as it becomes available and timing may vary by data source. 

Similar to statewide efforts, local partners are using data to drive local strategy. For regional data on access to health indicators, check out our Public Health Data Explorer.