Black colored mold on ceiling tile in downstairs F hallway- 2025

by Violet Fujimoto ‘27

Sherwood is one of the oldest high school buildings in MCPS, with its main building constructed in 1950. As buildings age, maintenance issues arise and it is inevitable that repairs need to be made. Claudia Delgado, the current president of Sherwood’s PTSA, and other parents in Sherwood’s community have attempted to highlight concerns that the school’s mold problems in certain areas of the school have not been adequately addressed for years. A teacher shared concerns about mold with Delgado in mid-October.

“Mold is known to cause various health problems including respiratory problems, headaches, dizziness, skin rashes and serious long term health issues,” said Delgado. “There is concern about the teachers, staff and students being exposed to something that is harmful to their health. Many teachers are reporting illnesses and there is concern that mold exposure is contributing to these illnesses.”

The Washington Post published an article on December 1 regarding this mold issue and the concerns of parents and staff. Due to the publicity of this article, MCPS representatives, Andrea Swiatocha, Deputy Chief of Facilities Management, and Jamie Duffy, Maintenance Facilities Manager, came on December 10 to meet with Sherwood teachers and parents. Approximately 35 teachers attended a voluntary staff meeting after school. The question and answer portion of the meeting lasted more than 45 minutes as teachers expressed frustration that many of the problems date back years.
At the parent meeting in the evening, approximately 50 parents attended in person and up to 76 people joined virtually.

The representatives presented similar statements, but many parents were not satisfied with actions by MCPS so far and a plethora of questions and concerns erupted from the audience, causing the meeting to last 90 minutes. Although Swiatocha and Duffy tried to address the concerns, many audience members felt that their answers were not satisfactory.

The area of greatest concern is likely the lower F-hall where a number of art classrooms are located. Fine arts teacher Hailey Mitkoff’s room is in F128, and she is among the teachers concerned about maintenance and repairs not keeping up with the problems that she visibly sees in her classroom. “Many classrooms, not just mine, have taken a serious hit from the past floods, some even worse than mine. In my years at Sherwood, I’ve noticed the overall maintenance of the building slowly declined,” said Mitkoff. “Whenever there was a leak or flood, the initial cleanup would happen, but a lot of the follow-up repairs never got finished. There are floor and ceiling tiles that have been missing for almost three years, rusted areas peeling from old flooding, and trim that still hasn’t been replaced.”

Mitkoff ordered a mold identification report from Mold Armor in September 2023 of samples taken from her classroom. The sample was sent to BBI Test Labs and tested for various types of mold. Multiple species were detected from this sample including Alternaria ssp., Rhodotorula ssp., Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium ssp., and Penicillium spp. These types of mold thrive in damp indoor areas and indicate water damage and indoor moisture. The report recommended “prompt remediation” and “elimination of moisture sources.”

Henriot St. Gerard, the Sherwood Cluster Coordinator and Area Vice President for the Northeast Consortium, submitted a letter dated October 23 to the members of Montgomery County Board of Education that include the results of the lab test as well as photos that indicate mold and other water damage in the F-hall,. Gerald, who has children attending schools in the Sherwood Cluster, urged, “Sherwood needs remediation while we await HVAC replacement.”

MCPS conducted an Indoor Quality Assessment (IAQ) in the lower F wing the week of October 28. The report found that the air quality levels were deemed acceptable due to no odors or mold shown throughout the rooms, and it concluded, “there is no indoor air quality concerns that would prevent staff or students from occupying these spaces at this time.”

Delago emailed parents regarding the air quality test on November 6 and attached the MCPS report. “There is a mold issue at many MCPS schools,” said Delgado. “I understand that MCPS is overwhelmed with repairs and mold at other schools, but Sherwood should not be ignored. I hold MCPS responsible for failing to properly inspect and maintain their facilities over many years.”

Dissatisfied by the lack of action by MCPS, Delgago began a petition on Change.org that, as of December 12, had collected 1,100 signatures. The statement at the beginning of the petition notes a number of issues at Sherwood in addition to concerns about mold, such as dramatically fluctuating air temperature, the smell of sewage, and frequently ‘out of order’ bathrooms. The petition also claimed that there were 28 complaints about Sherwood submitted to MCPS in just one week in early November.