Air Quality
Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is dedicated to monitoring and maintaining healthy air quality across the district.
Over the last three years, our indoor air quality (IAQ) program has continued to expand through important partnerships and pilot programs.
American Lung Association: Clean Air School Challenge (CASC)
The Clean Air School Challenge (CASC) supports schools in creating healthier learning environments. CASC is an engagement, recognition, training, and technical assistance program that empowers K–12 schools across the country to address IAQ. The program also offers mini-grants to address three tiers of participation: Assess, Plan, and Act. As of January 2026, MPS has received mini-grants to assess indoor air quality and energy efficiency at seven MPS schools.
CASC: 2026 Participating Schools
Brown Street Academy, Oliver Wendell Holmes School, Honey Creek Continuous Progress Charter School, Milwaukee German Immersion School, Henry David Thoreau School, Westside Academy, Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning (WCLL)
Children’s Health Alliance: Love My Air Wisconsin
MPS partners with the Alliance’s Love My Air Wisconsin (LMA WI) program to monitor outdoor air quality. The program focuses on improving respiratory health and environmental conditions in communities disproportionately affected by poor air quality and asthma.
Together, we identified 15 locations across the district to install outdoor air quality sensors on school buildings. MPS aided in their installation and now manages sensor maintenance. We work together to provide education to staff, students, and their families about how to access the air quality data, what it means, and how they can keep themselves and their families safe and healthy during poor air quality events.
Air Quality Champions
MPS has wonderful air quality champions who are helping students protect their health through simple actions. Here are two of them!
Story: Nurse Harris
Story: Ms. Lara
MPS Schools Hosting LMA WI Sensors
Allen-Field School, Browning School, Dr. Benjamin Carson Academy of Science, Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary School, Oliver Wendall Holmes School, Hopkins Lloyd Community School, James Madison Academic Campus (JMAC), Lincoln Avenue School, Milwaukee High School of the Arts (MHSA), Ronald Wilson Reagan College Preparatory High School, River Trail School of Agricultural Science, William T. Sherman Multicultural Arts School, Frances Brock Starms Discovery Learning Center, Harold S. Vincent School of Agricultural Science, Westside Academy
LMA WI Resources
MPS Air Samplers
In collaboration with MPS and the University of Wisconsin–Madison O’Connor Laboratory, the Milwaukee Health Department is using air samplers to detect the presence of 21 respiratory illnesses and measles. Starting in the fall of 2025, five continuous air samplers were placed in high-traffic areas of a mix of K–12 MPS schools. Air cartridges from the samplers are collected and tested for viral genetic material. The data shown in the MPS Air Samplers Dashboard is the percent of air samples that were positive for each pathogen each week across all participating MPS schools. Air sample results are assigned to the last date of the week in which the cartridge collected air in the school.
More Information
If you have any questions, please contact Bill Fink, district indoor air quality coordinator and safety analyst, at finkws@milwaukee.k12.wi.us or (414) 283-4662.