Cranston Public Schools announced Friday a districtwide rollout of sustainable UV-C disinfection technology, in partnership with biosafety technology company, R-Zero. The implementation is part of Cranston’s commitment to improving student engagement, and enabling a higher standard of health and safety in every school building across Rhode Island’s second largest district.

On Aug. 29, Cranston Public Schools welcomed over 11,000 students and staff back to classrooms for the 2022-2023 school year. In preparation for students’ return to school, the district deployed 18 Arc UV-C systems across the district’s 26 campuses. Currently used by more than 1,000 schools across the country, Cranston is the first district in the state of Rhode Island to add R-Zero’s technology to health and safety protocols.

The last two years of the pandemic illuminated the immeasurable impact in-person learning has on student achievement, and the need to create healthier indoor learning environments for students, teachers and staff. Policymakers are now highlighting the critical role of healthy buildings in education, as seen with the release of the U.S. Government’s National Covid-19 Preparedness Plan and the EPA’s Clean Air in Buildings Challenge earlier this year.

“As a district, we’ve long been committed to innovating the physical learning environment with the goal of keeping our students engaged,” said Edward Collins, Chief of Facilities at Cranston Public Schools. “Adding R-Zero’s UV-C technology to our already robust health and safety protocols provides our district with a more effective, efficient and safer way of maintaining healthier indoor learning environments.”

R-Zero’s Arc, an IoT-enabled, mobile UV device, enables the district to effectively and efficiently disinfect air and surfaces, without the use of harmful chemicals — another critical benefit for the Cranston community. Successfully eliminating 99.99 percent of air and surface microorganisms in just seven minutes, R-Zero’s UV technology provides the district’s facilities teams with essential flexibility, also freeing up critical time and resources. And as the country heads into what’s expected to be one of the worst flu seasons on record, coupled with the ongoing threat of Monkeypox, this technology will serve as a vital tool in not only mitigating health risks, but creating safer, healthier indoor learning environments that support student performance and achievement, long-term.

The devices, which cost $20,000 each, are currently being used in the elementary schools. Whether the district will purchase more has not yet been determined. Funding for the devices came from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund.

“We applaud Cranston Public Schools for taking a leading role in creating physical learning environments that promote greater health and achievement for all students,” said Grant Morgan, CEO of R-Zero. “The addition of R-Zero’s sustainable biosafety technology is a testament to Cranston’s commitment to the health and performance of their students. We are proud to support Cranston Public Schools in creating safer indoor learning environments that will pay dividends long beyond the pandemic.”

R-Zero is the first biosafety technology company dedicated to making the indoor spaces we share safer, healthier, and more productive. Backed by Mayo Clinic and the earliest investors in Google, Amazon, Tesla and SpaceX, R-Zero is dedicated to developing the most effective and innovative disinfection technologies to reduce the spread of microorganisms in the built environment.