Families and school districts across America are grappling with how to safely open schools for the 20-21 school year. Tough and important questions need to be answered. Are the facilities safe for children to go into? How will the faculty be protected? What are the protocols necessary to keep schools open and safe?
We are pleased announce a new partnership between the Education Market Association (EDmarket) and the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, to support its GBAC STAR™ facility accreditation program on cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention for education facilities.
COVID-19 has made cleaning and sanitizing protocols for our schools more important than ever. Certifying both facility professionals and the buildings themselves will give parents, teachers and students needed assurance that schools are doing all they can to prevent infection.
Spread the word about the GBAC program in your community and let your Superintendents and facilities professionals know that there is a standard of practice to help them better do their jobs.
“GBAC STAR™ is the gold standard of safe facilities, providing third-party validation that ensures facilities implement strict protocols for biorisk situations,” said GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger. “Accreditation empowers facility owners in the educational community to prove they have the training and systems in place to deliver clean and healthy environments that are safe for students, teachers and staff.” GBAC STAR™ accreditation criteria, facility applications, and information on the online course are now available at www.gbac.org.
In addition, EDmarket-affiliated facility professionals can enroll in the GBAC Fundamentals Online Course: Cleaning & Disinfection Principles for half price ($150 savings). Educational facility professionals should use the code EDMARKET2020 to receive a 50 percent discount off the purchase of the online training course.
This self-paced, online course covers the planning, knowledge and processes needed to respond to a biohazard crisis such as COVID-19. The industry’s only outbreak prevention, response, and recovery accreditation, GBAC STAR™ helps organizations establish protocols and procedures, offers expert-led training, and assesses a facility’s preparedness for biorisk situations. The program ensures facilities use best practices to limit future outbreaks, empowers cleaning staff to do their jobs safely and effectively and gives customers and building occupants greater confidence.
EDmarket believes that getting our school system up and running in a safe and secure manner is a priority for everyone involved. Spread the word about the GBAC program in your community and let your Superintendents and facilities professionals know that there is a standard of practice to help them better do their jobs.