The Colonial School District is committed to maintaining a healthy learning environment for all students, staff and visitors in all of our schools. A major component of this is maintaining proper indoor air quality (IAQ). Maintaining proper IAQ is especially important during times of construction and renovation projects.  To this end our Facilities Management Department ensures a safe environment by installing “critical barriers” that separate the construction areas from the student learning areas.  A “critical barrier” is a wall that is constructed with plywood and sealed with plastic.  The purpose of the “critical barrier” is to keep all dust, construction odors and airborne particulate in the construction zone, eliminating any potential for exposure to students and staff.  In order to ensure the effectiveness of the critical barriers an expert in the field of IAQ has been hired by the District to test the quality of the air both inside and outside of the construction zone. The parameters tested are in accordance with guidelines/requirements established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They include nuisance dust, temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds.  The tests are conducted in random locations on the third and second floors of the school and the results are compared to those taken inside the construction zone as well as those in the outdoor environment. The results of all tests taken to date have provided that we are well within the EPA guidelines ensuring that we have maintained a healthy environment for all students, staff and visitors.