Reopening schools is always a challenge, made even more difficult this year by the pandemic. Now schools must also consider how to create a safe environment for both students and staff to use. SEEM Middle School was looking to do just that. SEEM is a collaborative school, meaning their students come from several communities because they were not making enough progress in either their previous placement or home district. With such a variety of students, SEEM is considered high needs and thus is staying open as their students benefit from in-person classes.
The SEEM building houses grades 5 to 12, with the middle school and high school on separate floors, and a shared quarantine space. So far, the school has had no positive COVID cases, but some students have exhibited symptoms. Students with any symptoms are seen by the nurse and wait in the quarantine space until they are picked up. Given this, SEEM was searching for a way to ensure the quarantine space is as safe as possible.
For SEEM, the Setra AIIR Watch has provided additional peace of mind as well as guaranteed safety. Setra's AIIR Watch creates negative pressure in a room, pulling in the contaminated air and sterilizing it. The sterilized air is then vented out through a window, ceiling tile, or the HVAC system. Sterilizing and removing potentially contaminated air from a quarantine space helps ensure it is safe to use for isolation, and negative pressure prevents any potentially contaminated air from escaping into eh surrounding areas.
"We cannot thank Setra enough for assisting us with making sure our isolation room is safe," says Stephanie Arzigian of SEEM Middle School.
The main feature of the Setra AIIR Watch that stood out to SEEM was if a symptomatic student is in the room, when the door is opened they know the contaminated air will not travel into the hallway. After a student leaves the room, they wipe down all surfaces, but they feel the air is vented properly to prevent the potential airborne spread of the virus.
