Williamsburg Middle School - MOLD

[Anonymous]

There has been mold in WMS for YEARS!! They know. Have your kid take pictures.

Don’t even try to deal with WMS administration. Go straight to central office and be prepared to have to be on them constantly to get it taken care of. APS can say what it wants but it doesn’t have enough money and Human Resources allocated to these types of upkeep and repairs.

[Anonymous]

It's not Human Resources, it's Facilities.

[Anonymous]

Cardinal has a mold problem too, and that building is only 3 years old. The APS Facilities Office doesn't know what they are doing.

[Anonymous]

Maybe they should have scaled back the Career Center project in order to elevate remediating known mold problems in the last. Take pictures and go public with it or expect spin and then some more spin.

[Anonymous]

Post on the WMS parents page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There has been mold in WMS for YEARS!! They know. Have your kid take pictures.

Don’t even try to deal with WMS administration. Go straight to central office and be prepared to have to be on them constantly to get it taken care of. APS can say what it wants but it doesn’t have enough money and Human Resources allocated to these types of upkeep and repairs.

This is not an excuse, but I think the big issue with WMS is that they know if they start to remediate the mold there's a ton of other things that are going to pop up. There are teachers in the building (and not young ones) who went to school at WMS. Its an old building with a ton of issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they should have scaled back the Career Center project in order to elevate remediating known mold problems in the last. Take pictures and go public with it or expect spin and then some more spin.

Reading these comments makes me angry that the focus was on security vestibules and the more expensive career center in the last CIP. Kitchens were necessary. Vestibules could wait. Career center is going to be a dead weight on all future plans. Take care of the mold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they should have scaled back the Career Center project in order to elevate remediating known mold problems in the last. Take pictures and go public with it or expect spin and then some more spin.

Reading these comments makes me angry that the focus was on security vestibules and the more expensive career center in the last CIP. Kitchens were necessary. Vestibules could wait. Career center is going to be a dead weight on all future plans. Take care of the mold.

I disagree that vestibules could have waited. They are crucial for security in old buildings. Go after the bloated projects, not the small potatoes that are targeted improvements to security.

[Anonymous]

WMS parent here. Can anyone tell me where in the school they've seen mold? What rooms or areas? I am not doubting this at all, just I have never noticed it.

[Anonymous]

Why not call Arlington Code Enforcement, OSHA, and/or ArlNow / press. They made a big deal about it being a blue ribbon school, they should fix the facilities if they are a safety hazard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS has a mold specialist, or something like it. We had a burst pipe at Ashlawn that led to mold in a handful of classrooms, and the “APS mold guy” (not his title, obv) was in our school many times to test rooms and coordinate mold abatement. Get the pta together, write to the head of facilities, and copy your school admin and the supt.

His first name is Doug.

Renee Harber is the Asst Super over facilities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WMS parent here. Can anyone tell me where in the school they've seen mold? What rooms or areas? I am not doubting this at all, just I have never noticed it.

In the HVAC and all over the lower level. There is a whole wing on that lower level where all the classroom had dehumidifiers in them. That's not normal. I have also heard a rumor that there is a room on the lower level where the room - or maybe just the floor? - is just dirt. I haven't seen it and that may not be true. But the lower level is partly underground, so who knows. And if it's true, that's somewhere I'd want to look for more mold.

I later found out the HVAC is not even up to code. The whole system probably needs to be replaced. I don't know how parents in an area that cares so much about every other aspect of kids' education seem to be fine with such an unhealthy environment for their kids.

[Anonymous]

Very interesting. DS has had congestion since first day of school. I though allergy season started really early and seems to keep on going!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WMS parent here. Can anyone tell me where in the school they've seen mold? What rooms or areas? I am not doubting this at all, just I have never noticed it.

In the HVAC and all over the lower level. There is a whole wing on that lower level where all the classroom had dehumidifiers in them. That's not normal. I have also heard a rumor that there is a room on the lower level where the room - or maybe just the floor? - is just dirt. I haven't seen it and that may not be true. But the lower level is partly underground, so who knows. And if it's true, that's somewhere I'd want to look for more mold.

I later found out the HVAC is not even up to code. The whole system probably needs to be replaced. I don't know how parents in an area that cares so much about every other aspect of kids' education seem to be fine with such an unhealthy environment for their kids.

Yes, all that was on the ventilation report during Covid. It’s not a secret. Everyone loves to give ventilation lady a hard time until it personally affects their children. You guys should ask about this in the next PTA meeting.

[Anonymous]

OP Here.

My kid is in 7th - so I only know about what they are saying the 7th grade wing.

If your child is getting sick/unusual asthma/allergies, etc - please call the school and let them know and (try to) demand status updates.

I heard from school and they said they will look into this matter further. I plan on calling again for an update at end of week. Amazon sells mold kits, I'll be sending a few in with my kid.

Again, please, please call the school.

Thank you for your responses, it is greatly appreciated.