Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy Receives 2017 Healthy School Award

Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy uses dry steam vapor for cleaning. Courtesy photo.

Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy (HPA) was one of three schools selected nationally to receive a 2017 Healthy School Award from The Healthy Facilities Institute (HFI), in partnership with School Planning and Management and College Planning and Management magazines.

An expert panel selected winners based on submitted applications, interviews and a strong commitment to facility health and practical steps. HPA received the Healthy Facilities Advocate award for its mission to promote healthful, place-based learning on a site with access to 80 percent of the world’s ecosystems.

“We’re very pleased to be recognized for our efforts to achieve environmental excellence and to make our school environment better and safer for everyone,” said Robert McKendry, head of HPA.

Specific actions which lead to HPA’s recognition include:

Monitoring the indoor environment using devices that detect carbon dioxide, temperature, and sound levels.

Making standing desks and anti-fatigue mats available to employees.

Using dry steam vapor for cleaning and disinfecting, and a hydrogen peroxide-based cleaner, having reduced annual spending on chemical cleaners by about $4,000.

Using low-toxicity plant-based intervention to control insects.

The school’s Energy Lab achieved a Living Building Challenge certification by the International Living Building Institute (ILBI) in 2011 and also received Platinum-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Schools 2.0 certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2010. In 2012, HPA was one of a select group of schools throughout the state of Hawai‘i to receive the Green Ribbon Schools award from the U.S. Department of Education.

Winning schools will be featured in a webinar on Nov. 2 called Thirty Days to Healthy Schools at Lower Cost. The webinar will focus on how healthy schools promote learning, savings, and attendance-based funding and how any school can develop a framework for a healthy facility and budget within 30 days.

To view the webinar and for more information, visit the Healthy Facilities Institute.