Healthy Schools, Healthy People is a joint initiative between the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide school systems nationwide with tools to help reinforce hand hygiene and cleaning practices to prevent the spread of infectious disease and reduce sickness-related absenteeism.

Established in 2003, Healthy Schools, Healthy People began as a national awards program to celebrate students for innovative achievements in promoting handwashing in their school communities. Since then, the initiative has evolved into an interactive website equipped with the tools, information, and educational resources on proper hand hygiene and cleaning practices.

ACI is the nonprofit trade association representing manufacturers of household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products; their ingredients; and finished packaging. For more information, visit the ACI website at www.cleaninginstitute.org.

CDC is widely recognized as the lead federal agency for protecting the health and safety of people at home and abroad, providing credible information to enhance health decisions and promoting health through strong partnerships. For more information, visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov. 

The American Cleaning Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognize the importance of young people washing their hands to decrease the spread of illnesses and absenteeism in the classroom. Millions of school days are lost due to illnesses that are caused by bacteria and viruses.

There are lots of ways to get involved in making your school and community healthier through proper cleaning and hand hygiene practices and handwashing education. To get started, pick the role that best describes you:

You can stay in-the-know by signing up for our quarterly newsletter to get tips and resources, like toolkits and webinars, that will help you reinforce cleaning and hand hygiene practices in schools.