Safer classrooms for our students

Hi Penny Rd. parents!

In an effort to enhance Covid safety at Penny Road Elementary, we are organizing a parent-led effort to purchase HEPA filters for classrooms and common areas within the school.

While WCPSS has installed MERV 13 filters in schools across the county, these filters only remove approximately 58% of the aerosols containing the virus. Proper masking reduces the risk of virus transmission by approximately 50%. Combined with HEPA filters in the classroom, the overall risk reduction is greater than 90%. However, at the moment, there is no district wide initiative to purchase HEPA filters for classrooms, and this is why we are are asking for everyone's help.

Any small contribution counts! Although these units are expensive (ranging from U$300-600), if each family could contribute we hope to cover most of the school.

Given the rapid rise in COVID cases in the community and across WCPSS schools, we'd like to purchase these units asap. So, if you can make a contribution, please do so within the next two weeks (by September 17th).

Thank you so much.