It’s been a rough couple months for George Washington Middle School.
First, an old mold problem at the school resurfaced. Then there was the series of fire-related incidents at the school. School administration is hoping an environmental test can help provide a light at the end of the tunnel.
In a message sent to parents, school officials said mold was found in a number of classrooms in late 2018 and early 2019, but the issues were resolved when the school worked to fix its water intrusion issues. The issue made headlines when students at the school took the initiative and collected samples, had them analyzed, and were able to prove that there was mold growing in the classrooms.
Since then, the school has been working through various projects aimed at eliminating leaks in the school.
“Over the summer 2019, eight rooftop HVAC units that had been leaking above the auditorium and adjacent classrooms were replaced,” school administration said. “ACPS also carried out extensive roof repairs and sealed areas around windows that were found to be leaking.”
Now, ACPS is commissioning independent environmental testing at the school this month in hopes that it will show the repair work has paid off and solved the school’s mold issue.
“The entire school, including all classrooms in all wings of the building and all offices, will be tested to confirm that the building repairs and replacements have remedied our mold issues,” the school said. “The results of the tests will be shared in January 2020.”
Going forward, ACPS said it would provide the GW community with updates every quarter on projects at the school.
“While nothing can totally eliminate mold altogether, we believe that the necessary actions that have been taken over the past year have gone a long way to prevent water from entering the building and causing additional mold growth,” ACPS said.
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If you had a chance to enhance a child’s future with a time commitment of less than 2 hours a week, how would you respond? You have that opportunity right now to join over 200 Alexandrians as a reading tutor volunteer with the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC).
ATC tutors work with one child in kindergarten, first, or second grade in Alexandria public schools who need extra help with reading. Tutors meet with their Book Buddy 1-2 times each week for 30 minutes October-May at school, during school hours. Many struggling readers only receive one-on-one instruction through this program, and it makes all the difference. Last year, ATC served 195 children, of whom 82% ended the year reading on grade level and 96% made substantial reading gains. But the need is great, and we are still seeing learning lags from the pandemic.
This year, ATC plans to significantly increase the size of the program to reach over 250 students and to serve every elementary school in Alexandria. This is very exciting news, but we will only succeed if we can recruit more tutors. ATC trains you, matches you with a child, and provides ongoing lesson materials and support.
If you have been thinking about buying your first home or haven’t owned one in the last three years, THIS IS FOR YOU!
In the DMV area, it can be difficult to save the downpayment necessary for you to get into your own home. We have a solution. The Funder’s Summit!
We have assembled a summit with different municipalities to tell you how to access their funds for your home purchase.
2023 Alexandria Fall Festival
Food trucks, bounce houses, pony rides, magic shows and more at the 2023 Alexandria Fall Festival, an Alexandria Living event presented by The Patterson Group. Join us at River Farm on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
