The first national evidence base connecting school building conditions to educator health.
The impact of school environments on students has been studied for decades. We’re studying them for the adults who teach in them, and we’re looking for partners to help fund it.
#HearOurTeachers
One national evidence base that school design can no longer ignore.
Every response maps a teacher’s lived experience: Of air, sound, light, temperature, and the spaces beyond the classroom, to the standards that govern how schools are built. With enough responses, educator health becomes a design requirement.
Want to know more?
― Why This Survey
Decades of research proved it for students. It's time to do the same for the adults in the room.
Since the 1990s, public health and building science have linked school environments to how students do. Children in the most daylit classrooms progress 20% faster in math and 26% faster in reading over a single year (Heschong Mahone Group, 1999.) Math passing rates climb measurably with every increment of fresh air ( Haverinen-Shaughnessy et al., 2011.) Test failure rates rise about 5% for every 2 decibels of classroom noise (Shield & Dockrell, 2008.)
That evidence reshaped standards and gave districts a reason to spend. Our educators need the same database, and this survey helps us get there.
Give districts something to point to
School construction authorities decide what gets built. This dataset gives them the educator-health evidence to justify lactation rooms, planning space, and acoustic standards in every project.
Shape the standards themselves
By mapping lived experience to LEED, WELL, and ASHRAE metrics, results can show where current standards protect educators and where they fall short.
Make retention a design problem
Recruiting and retaining educators is a national crisis with a real price tag. Healthy workplaces are part of the answer, and this survey makes that case with data.
― Just One Example
Take vocal strain.
Teachers develop voice disorders at 2-3 times the rate of the general population (Martins et al., 2014.) More than half report one at some point in their career (Baghban et al., 2025.) And women carry more of this burden; they have a higher lifetime prevalence than men and more of the chronic cases (Hunter et al., 2011.)
Physiology is a part of this. A Smaller larynx and shorter vocal folds mean more vibrations to produce the same sound. But what role does the classroom play? Hard surfaces, a loud HVAC unit, no amplification equipment? All of these are design decisions.
This is one of the topics explored in the Educator Health Survey.
― We Need Your Help
The survey is live. What we collect depends on who joins us.
Fund the fieldwork
Every completed response costs about $20 in participant incentives. Sponsorship converts directly into how many educators we reach and how many states we cover.
Put it in front of educators
Districts, unions, and educator networks are how this reaches people. The Partner Toolkit has the flyers, newsletter copy, social posts, and printable QR posters ready to go.
― Origins
Backed by a room of leaders
In 2026, this work was one of four projects selected to pitch at the Loeb Collaboratory at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, a forum where Loeb Fellows and GSD alumni hear emerging projects and commit their networks to the ones worth building.
The room committed. What began as a research question became a national effort, now led by the Human Experience Research Team at Perkins&Will — public health scientists, designers, and industry experts — and developed in dialogue with the institutions that build and run America’s schools.
Dr. Erika Eitland
Brooke Trivas
― To our partners,
Thank you for making this research possible.
We are grateful for the support of our partner organizations for seeing the value of this evidence-based work, supporting it, and furthering the vision for improving educator health nationally.
― Sponsor the Research
Every dollar supports participants.
$1,000
50 EDUCATORS
- Logo on this page and in the published report
- Named in the final acknowledgements
$5,000
250 EDUCATORS
- Everything above
- Recognition in conference presentations and media appearances
- Logo in partner launch materials
$25,000
1,250 EDUCATORS
- Everything above
- An early briefing on findings with the research team
- Named as a lead partner throughout the campaign
Questions: educatorhealthsurvey@arearesearch.org
The guidance provided on this site is based on the available information as of the date of publication and does not replace federal, state, or local public health recommendations but aggregates best practices and innovative solutions at the intersection of buildings and school health. We encourage schools to reach out and seek expert advice on their unique circumstances.
