AHWATUKEE, AZ — Students are headed back to class at Kyrene de la Sierra Elementary School on Tuesday, months after an abrupt closure of the school due to roof work and air quality concerns.
Students at the Kyrene Elementary School District school, in Ahwatukee near Loop 202 and Desert Foothills Parkway, had been moved to remote learning and to alternate campuses since August 2025.
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At one point last year, air quality reports inside the school showed measurements 28 times higher than what is deemed acceptable by the U.S. Green Building Council. In the classroom that was tested at the elementary school, the total volatile organic compounds, or TVOCs, were 14,000.
“…Normally in like, schools, offices, and in your homes, you want to see it between, like 500 to 1,500. And it even says that in the report,” Amber Kraft, who has worked in air quality for the past 15 years, previously told ABC15. “It really is dependent on how your body reacts, but there's generalized symptoms when being exposed to VOC compounds,” Kraft said. “So, that's headaches, dizziness, irritation—usually it'll just go away on its own after you get out of that environment.”
Following an extension of the closure through winter break, school officials say recent air quality tests have come back with “normal” readings. Additional tests from independent experts were also ordered “out of an abundance of caution,” according to school officials.
"Sierra teachers are settling in and putting the final touches on their classrooms. I know they are as excited as our students to be back 'home' at Sierra," school officials said Monday.
"I think as parents, we’re just a little nervous considering the air quality. I think our children were concerned about the air quality. They’re very up to par on what’s going on, but I think that was a concern. But we’re confident our school district has their best interest at heart,” said Angelica Islas-Mohr, a parent of students at the school.
The school has continued to update a timeline and informational page about the work at the school online.
