Why we built Saans Schools
Air pollution can affect whether it feels safe for students to play, exercise, or travel to school outdoors. But air-quality readings can be hard to interpret quickly. Saans Schools is a prototype dashboard designed to make those readings easier for school communities to understand.
The idea is simple: show the air-quality situation in a clear, approachable way, then help a school think through what it may mean for students and outdoor activities.
What the project does
The dashboard presents school-focused air-quality information and translates technical readings into more understandable results. Its interface uses a school theme and visual cues to make the experience more approachable for students, families, and school staff.
Saans Schools is an awareness and decision-support prototype. It is not a medical tool, and its output should not replace local public-health or school guidance.
How it is built
The current version is a web dashboard built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Project files and supporting data-processing code are kept in GitHub. The site is configured for GitHub Pages.
The repository also includes a Python data-preparation script and a Lambda function prototype for observed school data. These are development components; the live dashboard is not currently backed by deployed AWS services.
Our AWS learning
We explored how AWS could support a future version—for example, hosting a static site and running a serverless function to prepare or serve updated air-quality data. During deployment, the AWS account’s organization policies blocked access to the required services, so we did not deploy the application to AWS.
That limitation helped us distinguish between an architecture idea and a working deployment. For a real launch, we would first confirm account permissions, select an approved hosting path, connect a reliable air-quality data source, and add monitoring and clear data-source attribution.
What we would improve next
- Connect a trusted, regularly updated air-quality dataset and show its source and update time.
- Explain what each reading means in plain language, with accessible colors and labels.
- Test the dashboard with students, teachers, and families.
- Add location and date controls while making clear when data is unavailable or delayed.
- Deploy the backend only after AWS account permissions and security requirements are resolved.
Saans Schools is an early prototype, but it gives us a place to learn, test ideas, and make air-quality information more understandable for the people who need it.
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