An Update Regarding Barack Obama Elementary: August 24

Good afternoon, Obama Staff and Families,

This morning, as Obama teachers and staff began setting up classrooms for students, they found additional areas of mold growth (for example, behind bulletin board paper). Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to send everyone home so we could thoroughly re-clean the newly identified areas and perform additional antimicrobial fogging. We will then retest every single room in the school. 

All of this is realistically going to take several days. So we will not be returning to the Obama building this week. Our goal is to do so by Monday. 

In the interim, we are working to get Clark Springs Elementary School ready as a temporary space. We’ll have more information about that by tomorrow. For now, school is closed on Tuesday. 

Please note that at no time was anyone in an area where air quality tests indicated elevated levels of mold (which is what is considered dangerous for occupancy). The latest report from our contractors is attached and shows that the only remaining room with elevated mold levels was room 104, which was sealed off from the rest of the building before staff re-entered. 

I know that this has been extremely frustrating for families and staff, and I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and anxiety it has caused. To answer any questions you may have, I will be hosting a town hall at 5:30 this evening at Frances McClenney Elementary (3817 Chamberlayne Ave.).

Thank you for your grace and understanding as we work to resolve this once and for all. 

With great appreciation, 

Jason