Spidery mold was discovered in AP Environmental Science teacher Ms. Kathleen Freeman’s room on Wednesday, September 11.
Senior Christina Si was waiting in line to talk to her AP Environmental Science teacher. After a few seconds of eye wandering, she realized there was something very wrong.
“I look up and the American flag is disgusting,” Si said. “It’s molded and it looks really bad, and it kind of looks like one of those aged documents. It looks like it essentially has coffee stains on it like it’s been there for 50,000 years. I’m like, ‘That is disgusting. What is that?’ So I mentioned it to Ms. Freeman.”
Si started to notice the mold everywhere in the room. When she looked up, there was a basketball-sized mold stain on the ceiling tile above, which was also close to the vent.
“I told my parents about it, I told my family about it, and they were obviously upset, because we were just like, this definitely shouldn’t be happening, and it shouldn’t be happening in a place where we send our kids to be safe and to be at school, to learn. I don’t know why there’s mold growing in a classroom there,” Si said.
Other students in AP Environmental Science also felt uncomfortable about the presence of the mold.
“There are other watermarks on ceiling tiles. So it’s like, is that mold? Or is it really a watermark, or is it something else that’s going to kill us all?” junior Amelia Badura, who also sat under, said.
The class was moved to a different room while the mold was cleared out, which Si feels was detrimental to her educational experience at the time.
“Ms. Freeman obviously tried her best to make sure that it was the most seamless transition that she could make it,” Si said. “But you could obviously tell that some things had to be moved around. The schedule had to be changed a little bit. The learning was definitely disrupted.”
According to a statement from Communications and Community Relations Liaison Ms. Rachel Riley, a malfunction in the air handler damper allowed excess moist and humid air to enter the room, due to being stuck in an open position. The process of inspection and repair was completed within four days.
Interim Principal Ms. Andrea LaPira stated that a mold abatement company came to test the mold and that Haven’s cleaning service, Metz, assisted in removing the surface mold in the classroom. She also acknowledged the rapid response time of Director of Operations Mr. Bob Maloney.
Si felt that the issue should not have occurred at all.
“There was a ton of bacteria coming through the vents, and also it made the room a lot more humid,” Si said. “It’s just essentially the perfect environment to grow mold in.”
Badura described the situation as unnerving, especially sitting right underneath one of the mold spots.
“We’re breathing in mold since the beginning of the school year. So then, since we only moved out the three days that they were actually cleaning it, it was like, ‘Okay, there’s going to be black mold in everyone’s lungs.’ Obviously, it wasn’t that serious, but we’re all kind of a little panicky,” Badura said.
The school district found no evidence of black mold, according to LaPira.
Freeman declined comment for this story.
