Beacon City School Budget Passes - The Highlight Reel of Budget Items - What Students Can Expect

Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

The email came in from Dr. Matthew Landahl, Superintendent of the Beacon City School District, at 10:24 pm, just hours after polling had closed and the votes were counted. He was announcing the passing of the BCSD budget and additional buses for kids in the district. We asked him for his highlights of the budget, in a Cliffs Notes fashion. You can read the 2019/2020 budget presentation in full here.

Proposition 1 - The Budget

Beacon City School District 2019 Vote Results:

Proposition 1 Budget
Yes- 749
No-193
Total- 942

Proposition 2 Buses

Yes 727
No- 243
Total- 970

Proposition 3- Capital Transfer

Yes- 740
No- 232
Total- 972

Board Election
Meredith Heuer-814
Michael Rutkoske- 786
Antony Tseng- 678

Highlights Include:

• Additional Class Size Reduction: Teaching position at the elementary level. “We have added seven of these positions the previous two years,” says the superintendent.

• Music: Continuation of the currently grant-funded fourth-grade instrumental music program with district funding of the band teacher position. A Little Beacon Blog wrote about that here when it started.

• Business: Addition of Business teacher position at the high school to begin a Business education program for high school students.

• Art + Computers: Addition of a half-time Art teacher position at the high school to begin some digital design programming.

• Social Worker: Addition of a full-time Social Worker position at the high school to complement the social worker and psychologist already there. “We are hoping to hire someone with expertise in drug and alcohol counseling. The position would also work with middle-school students,” said the Superintendent.

• Professional Development: Greatly expanded professional development for teachers.

• 1:1 Chromebook Initiative at the high school for all students.

• Interactive Whiteboards in all high school classes.

• Farming and Food: Expanded partnership with Common Ground Farm and continued partnership with Hudson Valley Seed.

• School Garden at Rombout Middle School.

• Additional coursework at the high school which will not necessitate additional staff.

From the Budget Power Point, there will be additional high school programming in these areas:

• Business Education Program - Planning year for internship model for 2020-2021

• PLTW - Computer Science Program - Year 1 Computer Science Essentials

• Italian Course

• Art Coursework - Architecture Design, Interior Design, Sculpture

• English Department

• AP Language & Composition Course

• Magic Realism in Literature

• Media Literacy

• Research Literacy

Proposition 2 - The Buses

What does a vote of Yes mean? It grants two buses that can seat 72 passengers each, and four buses that can seat 20 passengers.

Speaking of buses, the April deadline of getting in your request for your child to be bused has passed. But maybe there’s still hope? So you better get on it if you need busing. This is for kids who live in the designated busing areas, or are bused to childcare locations.

Proposition 3 - Capital Transfer

When A Little Beacon Blog inquired as to the details of the Capital Transfer, the superintendent explained: “The Capital Transfer allows us to move money from a Capital Reserve to our Capital Project, namely to fund lights at the new turf field behind the high school being built this summer. Lights will help us use the field more often and also will allow the community to use the field more as well.”

In his email to Beacon families, and on the Beacon City School District website, Dr. Landahl concluded: “I want to give a huge thanks to the community for supporting our budget this year. We can't wait to start the new programs in this year's budget to help our students!”

Beacon Career Fair A Success With Teens, Businesses and Organizations

There was great turnout at Beacon High School’s Career Fair today! Plenty of interested students asked questions... and foraged for free cookies. A Little Beacon Blog bribed passers-by with stickers, and for the writers and bloggers in the house (they are usually very shy and quiet when approaching the table), we gave writers our tote bag.

Each year we are happy to engage with teens to show them the resources they didn’t know about yet, like our recent article about the (free) Dia Teens Art Program, and the Open Sketch session at the Beacon Library. One student who visited the table is about to be published in the Poughkeepsie Journal for an article she wrote!

Salon Dae (the salon near Dutchess Airport) was in attendance with opportunities for hair stylists, and did braiding on the spot. Next to Salon Dae was Twins Barber Shop from Beacon’s Main Street, clipping away. The Twins always draw the largest crowd!

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Across the way were the fire 🔥 fighters, who were giving demonstrations using a smoke machine. Antalek & Moore Insurance brought their corn hole game and had quite the competitions going on. For the rest of us, it was hard to compete with all that action!

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The EMS Education table was in a good spot to reach interested prospective first responders, who need the education first to even get into the field. Other first responders included the Beacon Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the Beacon Police.

A Little Beacon Blog’s table was in between Wingate’s caregivers table, answering questions for men and women who might want to go into nursing and caregiving, which we learned provides job security as there has been a shortage of nurses, we were told. Dutchess County Tourism was on our other side - where we learned all sorts of things like how they are organizing workshops for businesses to help educate about best practices, like ADA compliance for websites. Good stuff, those busy bees are doing over there!

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If you’re a business who wants to represent at the Beacon Career Fair next year and reach the students, email the organizer, school counselor Michele Polhamus at polhamus.m@beaconk12.org. The notification about the Career Fair usually goes out in March-ish for this annual May event.

Yearly Form To Request School Bus Due For Students Who Ride School Buses

A message from the Beacon City School District:

If your child is going to a child care location for the 2019-2020 school year, and will need transportation to or from that site to their school, please submit a new transportation request form by April 1, 2019. By law, a new request is required each year by April 1st for the following year.

If your child will attend a non-public school for the 2019-2020 school year, and will need transportation, NYS law requires a written request each year. Please submit this request to the school district registrar's office before April 1st. Transportation to non-public schools may be provided by law for a distance of 15 miles.

Forms are available here on the district website or from the registrar's office at 10 Education Drive, Beacon, New York.

Beacon Players’ Beauty and the Beast Was Over The Top Good - Here Are Some Pictures

It is hard not to cover every performance from the Beacon Players, the Beacon High School Drama and Theater Arts organization that brings together students who share a passion for theater and performing arts. A Little Beacon Blog is a sponsor every year in their playbill, and every year we’re amazed with the quality of the production. Remember Peter Pan, when Peter and Wendy really did fly across the stage? Surely you saw the Chorus Line.

In case you didn’t get to see the most recent show over the weekend, we are bringing to a wider audience these photos from the Beacon Players’ Instagram, that give you a glimpse of what the show was like, and the range of what students get to experience while putting on the show.

Music!

Usually people think of the actors when they think of aligning with a theater group, but there are other creative parts of the crew that they can be a part of. Like the Costume Department, and the Pit Orchestra. Pictured here are five members of the orchestra, who make the music happen.

Beacon Players Are All Ages

One might assume that all of the participants are in high school, but really, all ages are involved. Pictured here is the “younger company,” who rehearse alongside the big kids for their parts in the show.

How To Get Involved

If you’re a business or an individual, you can sponsor a show. Email beaconplayersad@gmail.com to be put on their list when they are reaching out for playbill ads. You can also sponsor a seat.

Watch this space for any summer camp or meetup opportunity the Beacon Players put on. Meanwhile, many summer opportunities are here in A Little Beacon Blog’s Summer Camp Guide.

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Entering our final show day like....#beaconplayers #footstool #ohandbabette #beautyandthebeast🌹 #finalshow

A post shared by Beacon Players (@beaconplayers) on Apr 28, 2019 at 6:51am PDT

2019 Career Fair at Beacon High School - Seeking Businesses To Participate

The Beacon High School Career Fair is Thursday, May 23, from 10 am to 1:30 pm, and once again, the school is seeking businesses to participate so that students can see the huge range of careers that exist in the Hudson Valley, or that exist at all.

Types of Participating Businesses

Past participants have included illustrators, writers, bloggers, podcasters, engineers, drone operators, insurance agents, document storage companies, first responders, public servants, T-shirt making companies, peace organizations, law firms, and many more.

Don’t be shy or think your business is too big or too small or too unusual to participate. This is your time to show kids what they can do, what they can become. This is your time to let them look up to you and your business, and figure out what they can dream about becoming.

I have participated three years in a row, representing A Little Beacon Blog (online newspaper) and Tin Shingle (teaches businesses how to get the word out). This year I’ll also probably have my couture branding agency, Katie James, Inc. represent. Businesses are grouped with like businesses, so I’m usually in the Media or Communications section.

Pictured above are the writer Sarah Crow, who at the time was a regular contributor to publications like GQ, Bridal Guide, and MTV. Currently she is a Senior Editor at Galvanized, where she does all sorts of things like manage freelance writers and run the social media account for the brand, as well as research for the Eat This, Not That! podcast. Also pictured here is Tom Cerchiara, founder of TEC Land Surveying.

Interacting With The Kids During The High School Career Fair

Each time, kids approach my table shyly (you have to gently encourage them to come up to your table - unless you’re Twins Barber Shop, who give haircuts at their table, or Antalek & Moore, who brought the giant Jenga game last year), and quietly tell me about their secret blogs. Correction. Their friends usually tell me about a kid’s secret fashion blogs while elbowing their blogger friend to go on and tell me about it.

One young man had a secret passion for sketching, and didn’t want to be that open about it at home. I told him about the Sketch Book Open Studio meeting at the Beacon Public Library every Wednesday (on my radar from its spot in A Little Beacon Blog’s Kids Classes Guide), and encouraged him to go check it out.

How To Participate

To participate, email the School Counselor, Michele R. Polhamus, at polhamus.m@beaconk12.org. She would love to hear from you. Participating is really easy. Tables and chairs are set up for you, with access to power if you need it, though you need to coordinate with Michele in advance.

Deadline: Friday, May 3, 2019! But if you’re seeing this slightly after that deadline, go ahead and give it a try just in case.

Color-A-Thon Happening Saturday - Short Run Around Block Raises Money For South Avenue Elementary

DETAILS:
Registration: Starts at 10 am
Bounce House: 10:30 am to 12 pm
Color-a-Thon: Starts at at 12pm.
We will have music, food for sale, and an awesome raffle. Enjoy South Avenue’s playground where we just added a new climbing wall and ten spin!

The moment South Avenue has been waiting for all year is here - The Color-A-Thon (also called the Color Run)! This is South Avenue Elementary School’s big fundraising event organized by the PTA, which helps them buy playground equipment for the school, fund field trips, purchase class supplies, establish a sustainable school link with an Ethiopian partner school, and more.

Color-A-Thon Open To All

The run is open to everyone in the community, not just South Avenue students, and you can register at the event for $15. Some teachers and students have sponsored “student spots” for those who don’t have the registration fee, including teachers like Mrs. Biersack and Mrs. Fabia. Other teachers, including Mrs. Nunez and Principal Cahill, will be at the run throwing color and participating in other ways.

Raffle Prizes

Raffle prizes include fun stuff from Alps Sweet Shop, Beacon Bath & Bubble LLC, Beacon D'Lites, Homespun Foods, Hudson Beach Glass, and Obercreek Farm. Other participating organizations include Wee Play Community Project, with a gift certificate to the Ree Play Sale (last weekend in April!), and Beacon Recreation for donating a 2019 Beacon Pool pass.

How The Color-A-Thon Works

So it’s pretty easy - you wear white and run around the block in the neighborhood next to South Avenue. The streets are blocked for the run, and you can run around as many times as you like. Often there are parents running or walking with the kids, so if you can’t run or walk, your child will most likely join up in a pack with others.

Then, there are color points at each turn, and bright colors are literally thrown onto you! You get covered head to toe in color, and it’s a lot of fun. The color powder is made from cornstarch, and the bright color in it is a mystery. :)

You can register at the event.

TIP: Walk, don’t drive to this event. Your car will get really messy with color when you get back in after the event. Shoes get really messy.

Color-A-Thon Made The “Morning News”

South Avenue Elementary’s librarian, Mr. Burke, produces a morning news show from his library in the basement. He goes throughout the school for different scenes and has recurring characters. Usually played by himself (kind of like how Tyler Perry often plays so many roles in one movie).

Here’s Mr. Burke exploring what would happen if the Color-A-Thon and the State ELA Tests were on the same day (they were the same week this year).

Bingo Night At Hudson Valley Brewery To Raise Money For Playground at JV Forrestal Elementary

It’s Bingo Night (adults only) at Hudson Valley Brewery on Thursday, May 2, from 7 to 10 pm, an event to raise money for playground improvements at JV Forrestal Elementary, hosted by that school’s PTSO. According to the poster, there will be raffles! and fun! If you’ve ever been to a school fundraiser at the brewery, you’ll remember that the raffle is no joke. It’s one you want to enter and buy more than one bingo card for.

Kids in all of Beacon’s elementary schools love their outdoor recess and playground time, and it is with the support of the community that these playgrounds grow to add new equipment, landscaping, outdoor teaching opportunities, and more. All are welcome to attend and participate 0 this is not limited to JV Forrestal Elementary families!

P.S.: This poster was designed by the talented Steven Blumenthal, who is a dad at JV Forrestal, and is the designer behind the new sign on our building (the Telephone Building), as well as the designer behind Beacon Made, illustrations at Club Draw, and other images you may recognize.

This event has been added to A Little Beacon Blog’s Beacon Public School’s Opportunities Guide. There are some opportunities that involve no money at all.

Ticket price: $10 in advance/$15 at the door
Ticket price includes one bingo card
Additional bingo cards available for purchase
Information >

C. Diff Confirmed At Beacon High School - Cleaned To Prevent Spread - What Is C. Diff?

On Tuesday, March 26, 2019, a case of C. diff (Clostridioides difficile) was confirmed at Beacon High School. C. diff can cause diarrhea or colitis. Said Beacon Schools’ Superintendent Matthew Landahl in a “robocall” message delivered by phone/email/text to parents on Tuesday: “We immediately consulted with the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health, who advised that we clean hard surfaces in the school this evening to help prevent the spread of this bacteria.”

Cleaning Process

The Beacon City School District contracted with ServPro to conduct the thorough cleaning. They used an EPA-approved cleaning agent specifically used to stop the spread of C. diff, according to Superintendent Landahl in his message to the community. “We are implementing this cleaning protocol out of an abundance of caution. Closing the high school for a day was our decision as a school district.”

What Is C. Diff?

You can learn more about C. diff here at the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) website. According to the CDC, “C. diff bacteria is commonly found in the environment, but most cases of C. diff occur while you’re taking antibiotics or not long after you’ve finished taking antibiotics. People on antibiotics are 7 to 10 times more likely to get C. diff while on the drugs and during the month after.” C. diff symptoms include “diarrhea, including loose, watery stools (poop) or frequent bowel movements for several days, fever, stomach tenderness or pain, loss of appetite, and nausea,” according to the CDC.

More C. diff risk factors presented by the CDC include:

• age (more than 80% of C. diff deaths happen among those 65 and older)

• complicated medical care and extended stays in healthcare settings, especially hospitals and nursing homes

• certain antibiotics, such as fluoroquinolones

• a weakened immune system

• previous infection with C. diff or known exposure to the germs

90 Books Is the Goal for Book Drive for Special Education English Classrooms at Beacon High School

With Get Caught Reading Month coming up in May, the writerly folks at Get Lit Beacon are sponsoring a book drive to bring “student libraries” to the Special Education English classrooms at Beacon High School. Says Flora Stadler, a writer and part of the team that runs Get Lit: "We wanted to give students easy access to books they would enjoy reading, and classroom student libraries seemed like a great option.”

Get Lit is working with Principal Soto and Assistant Principal Simms to start small libraries in the Special Education English classrooms. “The teachers put together a great list of books from diverse authors to get students excited and engaged with reading."

The goal is to provide 90 books to three classrooms. Author and Get Lit Beacon founder Julie Chibbaro will present the books to the school during Get Caught Reading Month in May.

3 Ways You Can Help Make This Happen:

• Go to Binnacle Books in Beacon to choose books from the teacher wish list, and Binnacle will order them for you.

• Donate money to the cause through getlitbeacon.com, and Get Lit will buy the books for you. They'll also match total donations, up to $300.

• You can also purchase books on your own and drop them off any time at Oak Vino Wine Bar in Beacon.

What Is Get Lit Beacon?

Get Lit Beacon is a literary salon founded by writer and teacher Julie Chibbaro. Get Lit Beacon is a way to invite writers out into the community where they can be seen and heard. The salon is a casual gathering where published and aspiring adult writers of any genre can hang out, have a drink and share their work. Usually, one or two professional writers are invited to join and discuss their work.

Get Lit Beacon meets on the Second Sunday of each month (mostly) at Oak Vino Wine Bar, 389 Main St., Beacon.

More Opportunities To Help Beacon Students

A Little Beacon Blog has dedicated a guide to ways you can help the kids and families in Beacon City Schools. This opportunity has been added to the Guide, under the Beacon High School section. Be sure to check that Guide periodically to learn of new opportunities to support BCSD, such as the Color-A-Thon happening for South Avenue Elementary.

Sponsorship is open for that Guide! So, if it’s important to your brand to contact people who care about our schools, please reach out to us if you are interested in sponsoring that Guide. We’ll include your logo and a shout-out!

Bright Star Touring Theatre Comes To Beacon To Celebrate Black History - Free Performances

Photo Credit: Screenshot of the Bright Star Theatre’s website.

This just in from a flyer from the folders of Beacon’s elementary school kids:

The Bright Star Touring Theatre will be staging a free performance of “Black History Hall of Fame” on Tuesday, February 26, 2019 at 5:45 pm. This 45-minute production will take you on a fast-paced adventure through the Black History Hall of Fame, led by Dr. Daisy and Professor Paisley. Young audience volunteers and incredibly talented performers bring this show to life in every way. The Bright Star Theatre Group suggests this performance is best for kids in kindergarten to fifth grade.

After that performance, Bright Star will perform “Struggle For Freedom” at 7 pm. This 45-minute production seeks to honor the American Civil Rights Movement. With excerpts of famous speeches, Civil Rights-era songs and a variety of characters, this moving production has been hailed as one of “the finest touring shows available for a young audience.” The Bright Star Theatre Group suggests this performance for second graders through adults, but that is only a suggestion.

Both performances take place at Beacon High School, and are free of charge to the Beacon community!

Learn more about the Bright Star Theatre here. They are based in NC and tour all over the country.

Photo Credit: Screenshot from the Bright Star Theatre

12 Hours Left! Parent and Community Input Wanted From Beacon City School District

The Beacon City School District has produced very fine students over several generations, and the district itself has seen the best of times and the worst of times. Its current administration has been hard at work to create a connection with the community, in order to easily get information to them, as well as get information from them.

With the start of the new year, Beacon Superintendent Matthew Landahl invited the Beacon education community (parents via the school newsletter, and readers of his school blog) to participate in a “thought exchange” about how to improve the school experience for the Beacon graduate.

Dr. Landahl wrote: “In November 2017, the Beacon Board of Education endorsed and launched a long-range planning process for the district that will result in a focused and aligned community vision of student success beyond school. Having engaged the community in the identification of the most critical attributes of success for a Beacon graduate, the district now seeks to improve the district’s ability to ensure that every child develops those same qualities.”

This is your chance to contribute any thoughts you’ve had over the course of ever: about what you wish the Beacon City School District provided, or about what you are thankful that they currently provide, and you want to voice your opinion that it should stay.

The ThoughtExchange survey takes 5 to 10 minutes and is very easy. You can put in a number of thoughts. There are word count limitations, so it keeps you brief. You can remain anonymous, and others can read the thoughts, and even rate them. You can skip the rating part if you wish, and just read others to expand your vision. Or you can just drop your thoughts and go!

You can start the survey here. You do not need to be a parent in the district, and can simply be a person living here. The district, teachers and administrators have been very open to suggestions, so use this opportunity to voice your ideas.

Fundraiser For Beacon High School's "The Beacon Players"

We love supporting The Beacon Players - Beacon High School Drama and Theater Arts organization - at A Little Beacon Blog. This group goes above and beyond when putting a production together for the community to enjoy. Fans of The Beacon Players will know that tickets to their shows are only $5 and would like to keep it this way. That’s why the group is asking all of us to support and check out their new Snap!Raise Fundraising page.

The Beacon Players are raising money for costumes, art supplies, set building materials, and advertising. Your support will help them offer a higher quality experience for all participants and is vital to the success of the program.  With a goal of $3,000, they are almost halfway there as of this write-up.

The next production presented by The Beacon Players will be A Chorus Line, one of the longest-running shows on Broadway, the weekend of December 7-9, 2018. You can purchase your tickets here.

Raffle: Chance For A Kid To Win A Ride To School On A Fire Truck

If you missed this event last year, you have another chance to enter your kid to win a ride in a fire truck! Each $5 ticket into Rombout’s Raffle helps raise money for the eighth-grade Washington DC trip. This raffle’s grand prize is a ride to school in a fire truck driven by the City of Beacon Fire Department and Slater Chemical Fire Company. Your child could be picked up at home - in a fire truck - and driven to school!

One kid from each of the four elementary schools in the Beacon City School District (South Avenue, Glenham, J. V. Forrestal and Sargent) will be selected as winners. Flyers went home in the little kids’ folders, so fill those out and send in money with your tickets - $5 per ticket or 3 tickets for $10! There is no limit to how many tickets you can buy.

If you want to buy several raffle tickets and need to print more raffle forms/tickets, you can print out the raffle form tickets here and keep sending them in, just in case riding to school in a fire truck sounds TOO COOL and you really want to increase your chances.

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This is a highlight from A Little Beacon Blog’s School Opportunities Guide. There are more special events listed there, plus ways you can effortlessly donate to one of the schools in our district, through glass bottle collection, box tops, and other easy ways.

Beacon High School Gets "Satisfactory" Air Quality Grade After Mold Issue

Dehumidifiers and HEPA air filters have been installed, and cleanup continues after mold surfaced at the beginning of the school year at J. V. Forrestal Elementary and Beacon High School. The elementary school passed inspection with a “Satisfactory” air quality grade, and now Beacon High School has received a “Satisfactory” air quality grade as well. Meanwhile, cleanup will continue in the high school’s theater. Beacon’s Superintendent, Matthew Landahl, issued an update to the Beacon City Schools Website, which was emailed to parents on Friday, September 21, 2018:

“Adaptive Environmental Consulting tested seven different locations, either hallways or classrooms, throughout Beacon High School on Monday, September 17 and then repeated the testing on Wednesday, September 19. All results came back with low amounts of mold and a Satisfactory air quality rating. ServPro will continue to clean the theater in the high school and we will update you when that work is complete. Again, thanks for your patience and support as we work through this.”

Mold Creeps Its Way Into Beacon High School, J.V. Forrestal, and 7 Other Dutchess County Schools - BCSD Is On It

The official end of summer will be here before we know it, and September is proving to be an extremely hot back-to-school month. Forget fall wardrobe outfits and new boots on the first day of school, or even for school pictures which happen a few weeks later. We’re talking 100% humidity, people. And not all of the schools or classrooms in the Beacon City School District have air conditioning.

Two days after the first day of school, Superintendent Matthew Landahl emailed parents in the district about mold creeping into the high school, and the quality of the air. He wrote twice on Friday, September 7, and again on Friday, September 14. Then the Poughkeepsie Journal reported on it, as mold occurrences are happening in other school districts, including Millbrook’s Elm Drive Elementary School (classes are shifting to the middle school; remediation is estimated to take six weeks, according to the article). Wingdale Elementary School in Dover closed for a day, and Hyde Park apparently has a longstanding mold issue at Park Elementary School, according to Nina Schutzman’s Poughkeepsie Journal article.

Communication and action in the Beacon City School District looked like this, with emails from Dr. Landahl on September 7, 2018 (these are partial clips of the correspondences):

“I am writing to let you know about an air quality issue that developed in 6 classrooms in Beacon High School the past three weeks and steps we have taken to remediate it.

“On August 20, the Head Custodian at Beacon High School noticed some mold that developed overnight on desktops and other surfaces in four science rooms in the high school (rooms C127, C133, C135, C141). He immediately notified our Director of Facilities Anthony D’Amato who started working with the BOCES Safety and Risk Coordinator Brian Colandrea. We believe that the mold developed in those four rooms due to the classrooms having many potted plants and aquariums. That combined with the extremely high humidity outside helped to develop conditions for mold growth.

“We hired an outside company, ServPro, to clean the four rooms over Labor Day weekend and we have ordered HEPA air filters and dehumidifiers for those rooms which will be in place at the beginning of next week. We have already received the air quality tests from those four classrooms and the results came back Satisfactory with the recommendation that we install dehumidifiers and HEPA air filters in those rooms.
[Editor’s Note: In the original email, “humidifier” was used in that last sentence, but “dehumidifier” was intended, as confirmed to A Little Beacon Blog by Dr. Landahl.]

On Tuesday, September 4, staff at the high school noticed some mold growing on instrument cases in the closet of the band room (room D163) and underneath the risers of the Chorus room (D157). Our own staff cleaned the instrument cases and furniture immediately. We will have the same company come in to clean those two rooms, and the Band/Chorus practice rooms which are in the same wing on Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9.”

As of now, the dehumidifiers and HEPA filters have been put into place. Later that same day on September 7, 2018, parents received another update:

“It came to my attention today that two downstairs classrooms at J.V. Forrestal Elementary had mold develop in window sills and some of the edges of desks one morning a few weeks ago. It was wiped down immediately the day it was found and did not return. Since it was reported today, we inspected all of the downstairs classrooms in Forrestal with people from ServPro this afternoon. We did find small amounts of mold in rooms 6-12 (fourth-grade classrooms, third-grade classrooms, and art). We will have ServPro clean all of the those rooms on Monday, September 10. We will also install HEPA air filters and dehumidifiers in those rooms next week. We will test the air quality after the cleaning and share those results with you when we have them.”

A week later, on September 14, with the 100% humidity unrelenting, Dr. Landahl shared another update with new developments. All of these updates have been posted on the Beacon City School District’s website. These are snippets of his updates:

“I am writing to provide another update on air quality at Beacon High School. Yesterday, we noticed some mold growth on some of the cloth seats in the Beacon High School theater. We had the theater visually inspected today by the industrial hygienist we have been working with from Adaptive Environmental Consulting and he concurred with our assessment.

“We want to take care of this as quickly as we can so we are going to close off this space for the next two [to] three weeks so we can run powerful dehumidifiers for an extended period of time and have cleaners from ServPro clean every seat and treat other surfaces in the theater. The reason we are closing the theater is so that the folks from ServPro can work uninterrupted during this timeframe. The Beacon Players will be able to rehearse in our gyms during this period of time. I apologize for the inconvenience this will cause people.

“We will continue to test for air quality throughout the high school and share those results with you. We will also continue to work with our air chiller in the high school to see what adjustments or fixes need to be done to help mitigate this in the future.”

Capital Plan Improvements In Beacon City Schools

Projects that are part of the Capital Improvement Plan, funded by a public budget vote in November 2017, may aid in the overall fight against mold that threatens any structure (you can read about them here in our article). For example, replacing carpet with tile at Glenham Elementary could help, as mold and dust fester in old carpets. I’m a mold-phobe, and have been known to rip out old carpet from my home in the middle of the night - only to make myself very sick in the process from dust and not wearing a protective air mask. I’m currently chiseling adhesive carpet tile from my sunroom. Block by block.

Rooftop ventilation systems are also slated for replacement at J.V. Forrestal and Sargent Elementary. Roof repairs are slated for Beacon High School and Rombout Middle School.

All eyes are on improvements, as it seems like things are on track to getting better. Until the next mold update!

UPDATE 9/21/2018

The Beacon High School received a “Satisfactory” air quality grade this week, resulting in an update issued from Dr. Landahl on the Beacon City Schools’ website and emailed to parents:

“Adaptive Environmental Consulting tested seven different locations, either hallways or classrooms, throughout Beacon High School on Monday, September 17 and then repeated the testing on Wednesday, September 19. All results came back with low amounts of mold and a Satisfactory air quality rating. ServPro will continue to clean the theater in the high school and we will update you when that work is complete. Again, thanks for your patience and support as we work through this.”