Air Quality Monitoring

At PKS, we carefully monitor air quality on campus. In order to ensure the health and safety of our children and teachers, we check the Air Quality Index (AQI) regularly throughout the day and will adjust our activities accordingly. Should the AQI remain in the unhealthy range (151 to 200) for a sustained period of time, we may cancel some or all on-campus activities, so please continue to check your email regularly for updates.

Families of students with respiratory illnesses or conditions should pay particular attention to the AQI and keep their children home, as appropriate. You can check the AQI by using the AirNow or PurpleAir websites (US EPA 2.5 conversion). We also monitor information from the EPA, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health. 

When the AQI persists in the "orange level" (101 to 150, unhealthy for sensitive groups), we will generally limit outdoor activities and any activities that require physical exertion. When the AQI persists in the "red level" (151 to 200, unhealthy for everyone), we will generally keep students indoors throughout the day and enhance health and safety measures, such as requiring air purifiers and fans to be turned on in classrooms, and utilizing additional physical distancing when eating and drinking inside. If the AQI persists for a prolonged period of time in the red level (151 to 200) or extends into the purple level (over 200), we may decide to close the campus and/or cancel certain activities. 

Every child and family are different, and we support individual family decisions to keep students home when the AQI is beyond normal levels. It is important to remember that the guidelines above inform our decisions, but that the conditions may change rapidly throughout the day and that these AQI numbers are never static or absolute.