On Wednesday, Stamford Public School Superintendent Dr. Earl Kim addressed mold concerns in the district in a letter.
Read the full letter below:
To SPS Staff and Families:
As you are all aware, the district has been experiencing moisture and mold issues in a number of our facilities over the past several months. Although it may appear that Westover has received the most attention, be assured that we have been focused on issues across our entire district. In fact, the Mold Task Force (MTF), a combined effort of the City of Stamford and the Stamford Public Schools, continues to monitor every report of mold in our buildings and to hold weekly public meetings to answer questions and provide updates.
In order to ensure consistency and accuracy of information, the MTF has been taking the lead in communications. However, I want to take this opportunity to share a few personal thoughts on all that has been accomplished, some of the lessons learned and our next steps.
First, I want to thank the MTF for its quick, deliberate and persistent work to address our immediate needs, to ensure the safety of students and staff and to lay the groundwork for longer-term work of identifying and resolving root-causes of mold. Their efforts have allowed the rest of us to remain focused on educating our students and managing the systems that support our work.
Second, I am ever grateful to our business and community partners, as well as to the many city agencies, who have gone above and beyond in providing support and resources to accomplish all that we have, especially in facilitating our move to Westover-Elmcroft. Every one of these community partners was incredibly generous with its time and resources.
Third, I am thankful to the SPS administrators and staff who continue to make the extra effort to identify issues, move classrooms and support students in less-than ideal situations. They represent all that is good and honorable in our town, our schools and our profession.
As a Learning Organization, we are using this experience to reflect on the underlying causes that led us to our current predicament.
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We should have recognized that the circumstances we faced were unique and that more intensive interventions should have come sooner.
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While the MTF focused on responding to specific building issues, documenting discussions, work plans and inspection reports, I should have recognized the need for better systemic communications.
- Going forward, I will provide a bi-weekly update to all. This communication will attempt to synthesize the detailed reports and the impact on students and staff across the district.
- Principals will continue to communicate around the operational impact on their schools and the MTF webpage is still the best source of real-time information.
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We recognize that there is no single cause to the issues we’ve confronted, and we—mayor, board president and I—are committed to developing an improved system to manage our city and school facilities going forward.
If there is an overarching lesson worthy of sharing with our young people, it is the power of working together for the common good.
Wishing you the very best in this season of joy,
Earl Kim
Superintendent of Schools