How Can You Make the Most of Your School's ESSER Funds?

Since the start of the pandemic, the federal government has made almost $9 billion in emergency funds available for state and local educational agencies across the country. Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds allow schools to address improvements to air quality, personal protective equipment (PPE), and sanitizing materials necessary for school operations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government provides guidelines on how to use these funds, but for those overwhelmed by the ambiguity and confusion surrounding this important and time-sensitive process, SteriSpace® is here to help.

As funds provided by the federal government are available on a “use it or lose it” basis, this presents the perfect opportunity for schools to dramatically improve their building’s air quality with a SteriSpace air sterilization unit.

SteriSpace is a first-of-its-kind technology developed through collaborative research at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, with product development and testing conducted with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). The SteriSpace system is a novel device developed to remove airborne pathogens from a flowing air stream using a patented compressive heating process. The compressive heating of a continuous airflow at 240°C destroys airborne biological contaminants including bacterial spores, vegetative bacteria, and viruses similar to COVID-19.

With SteriSpace, you are investing in the health and educational well-being of your students and staff without the harmful drawbacks present in alternative technologies that include bipolar ionization, UVC, or by using HEPA filters alone. These include human error while changing the filters, pathogens can get into the air that causes cognitive setbacks, as well as more bacteria being recirculated into the air that is coming off from the dirty filter.

SteriSpace improves air quality in schools by creating safe and effective isolation rooms, using common areas like a nurse’s office. Our isolation rooms meet federal and state guidelines for required air exchanges per hour (ACH).

SteriSpace isolation rooms also adhere to ESSER fund allocation guidelines:

1. “coordination of preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies with state, local, and territorial public health departments, and other relevant agencies, to improve coordinated responses among such entities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus”;
2. “purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of a local educational agency, including buildings operated by such agency” and
3. “Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies.” from the DOE Certification and Agreement for Funding Under ESSER (CFDA number: 84.425D).

With this in mind, it becomes clear there is no match for SteriSpace. While alternative technologies claim to clean the air, SteriSpace is the only true air sterilization product available today.

If your school has concerns about its air quality, we urge you to contact us to set up a meeting with one of our knowledgeable air quality specialists to see how SteriSpace can help keep your school’s students and staff safe.