SUPERINTENDENTS
Role:
If a school district were a ship, the superintendent would be the captain. They oversee the day-to-day operations including finances, personnel, and resources. Superintendents also implement long-term plans to improve student achievement, while serving as the public face of a school district.
What's Important to Them:
Just about everything! The most important is student performance which includes grades, test scores, behavior, and attendance. The next major priority is costs and funding.
Best Information to Send:
A superintendent’s job is usually linked to student performance metrics so the information about improvements in test scores and better attendance will be exciting. Finally: government funding - especially ELC funds - is going to be a huge appeal!
SCHOOL BOARDS
Role:
Unlike a superintendent who is appointed, school board members are elected officials. This means that their boss is the voting public. They will want to show improvements in student and staff performance in order to be re-elected. Private schools are usually run by a single board for each school.
What's Important to Them:
School boards will want to make the same improvements that superintendents want. They will also have extra incentive to advocate for the health and safety of students because they are particularly accountable to parents.
Best Information to Send:
There’s some overlap with what superintendents will be interested in, but it’s also helpful to emphasize the information about safety, by clicking here. We’ve also created a special video for school members, which can be sent as a link in an email or played at a school board meeting!
PRINCIPALS & ADMIN
Role:
Principals are in charge of an individual school and they oversee operations involving curriculum, staff, and students. Many of you may already know your principal which makes them an excellent person for you to start a conversation with.
What's Important to Them:
Student performance, absenteeism (students and staff) plus student behavior. Principals are also the primary respondents when there is a major challenge for staffing due to an outbreak of illness - in fact, they sometimes have to teach when substitutes can’t be found!
Best Information to Send:
Principals will have an extra personal interest in keeping everyone healthy during cold and flu season or whatever respiratory illness comes next - COVID, RSV, etc.
IQs and student improvement), and Study about HEPA stopping the spread of respiratory illness.
FACILITIES OR MAINTENANCE
Role:
All too often facilities managers are unsung heroes who keep the school environment safe and clean. In addition to regular upkeep and scheduled maintenance tasks, they also encounter plenty of unpredictable daily challenges with unexpected repairs.
What's Important to Them:
As the folks responsible for upkeep and energy usage , the 5 year life of Austin Air filters will be very appealing. They've likely been researching air filtration for classrooms since the pandemic started and will know the importance of HEPA and activated carbon in the Austin Air purifiers.
Best Information to Send:
Information that shows Austin Air cleaners have more HEPA and carbon than any other option on the market. Information on our 5-year filter and the fact that we are an American company will also be appealing. Facilities and maintenance managers do not want to deal with supply chain issues.
BUSINESS/PURCHASING MGRS.
Role:
Business managers are responsible for efficiently assisting non-instructional concerns for school districts such as finances, employee payroll and benefits, and making purchases through specific processes that include special review or requests for bids from vendors. Purchasing officers do this for procurement.
What's Important to Them:
They are the people doing the buying so funding will be the #1 question -- and they’ll appreciate that Austin Air Clean Air Counselors are on hand to provide support and assistance. They'll also be happy to know we offer a faster, easier solution to the bid process and (as an American company) we don't have supply chain issues like overseas companies.
Best Information to Send:
“Section on Funding and Bidding Process” and “Clean Air Counselors" so they can see who will assist if they need it. The “Parents and Counties Are Already Doing It Section” will also encourage them - as entire counties from border to border and coast to coast have already invested in hundreds and even thousands of Austin Air cleaners. The long 3-5 year filter life will also be appealing because it’s one more way that Austin Air saves customers money over the long term.
COUNTY OFFICIALS/HEALTH DEPT.
Role:
Your county health department is in charge of public health issues including preventing the outbreak of communicable diseases. Many federal grants which can cover the cost of portable air cleaners for schools are managed and distributed by the county health department or county officials.
What's Important to Them:
Agencies and administrators at the county level will be motivated to prevent public health problems and to do so without spending any more money than is absolutely necessary. County executives are elected officials and the public face of the entire county so they’re under pressure to control disease outbreaks and to foster improvements to student performance county-wide.
Best Information to Send:
"Section on Funding and Bidding Process” is one of the most important as these are the officials who will release most grant funding for the purchase. The “Parents and Counties Are Already Doing It Section” will also be encouraging - especially with the links to local news articles that praise these past, bulk purchases of Austin Air cleaners. Finally, “Section with Health Info” and “Our Studies” show that Austin Air is the only air filter clinically proven to improve health outcomes.