What's Happening at McClymonds

2021-22

The McClymonds High School campus reopened for in-person instruction.

The most recent round of water testing, which was completed in October 2021, shows the drinking water at McClymonds continues to be safe for consumption. You can see the latest test results here.

2020-21

The McClymonds High School campus was temporarily closed for the health and safety of our students and staff. This action was taken due to the chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) being found in groundwater - not drinking water - under the campus. .

As of Tuesday, March 3, 2020 all McClymonds students were attending classes at the Ralph Bunche campus at 1240 18th St.

As of Tuesday, March 3, 2020 all Ralph Bunche students were attending classes at the West Oakland Middle School campus at 991 14th St.

Testing Results:

OUSD has received the testing results and materials from the state of California's Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) regarding the environmental issues at the McClymonds campus. We are in the process of reaching out to community to discuss the results and wanted to share the materials here:

DTSC Fact Sheet - a 2 page overview of the findings

DTSC approval letter - Letter from DTSC which reviews and approves the McClymonds Site Investigation Study

Final McClymonds Site Investigation report - The full techincal report detailing the McClymonds site investigation.

Latest Communications

Letter to McClymonds families regarding test results and future plans (Arabic, Spanish) (6/03/20) NEW

Update regarding the impact of temporary relocation the academic program (3/10/20)

Letter sent home with McClymonds students on Feb. 28 (Arabic, Spanish) (2/28/20)

Letter sent home with WOMs students on Feb. 28 (Arabic, Spanish) (2/28/20)

Letter sent home with Bunche students on Feb. 28 (Arabic, Spanish) (2/28/20)

Recent Resources

OUSD FAQs about Environmental Safety at McClymonds (2/27/20) NEW

Confronting Environmental Injustice, a message from Supt. Johnson-Trammell (2/27/20) NEW

East Bay MUD Statement on Groundwater found at McClymonds High School (2/26/20)

Alameda County Health Care Services Agency Fact Sheet (2/24/20)

Timeline

Week of Mar. 9:

During the week of March 9, we expect to receive official test results and recommendations back from the state of California. Based on those test results, we can determine our next steps.

Tuesday, Mar. 3

ALL McClymonds students will report to school at the Ralph Bunche campus at 1240 18th St .

ALL Ralph Bunche students will report to school at the West Oakland Middle School campus at 991 14th St .

Monday, Mar. 2

School is cancelled for ALL McClymonds students and ALL Ralph Bunche students.

Thursday, Feb. 27 2020

Confronting Environmental Injustice, a message from Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020

McClymonds campus remains closed. Classes will continue to be held at 3 OUSD schools offsite through the end of the week.

An Environmental Town Hall is scheduled for 6:30pm at West Oakland Senior Center (1724 Adeline Street). The event is organized by Oakland Councilmember Lynette McElhaney, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project.

Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020

McClymonds campus remains closed

MClymonds students and staff to resume classes at various locations offsite through the end of the week.

Read the 02.24 Fact Sheet here from Alameda County Health Care Services Agency.

Monday, Feb. 24, 2020

McClymonds is closed to students and staff

Student and family meetings are scheduled for 8:30am and 5:30pm at West Oakland Middle School

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020

Press Release Update: Air Testing Underway at McClymonds High School This Weekend; Preliminary Tests Results Are Promising

Friday, Feb. 21, 2020

McClymonds is closed to students and staff

OUSD leaders and McClymonds staff plan for students for upcoming school days. Details will be shared as soon as finalized.

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020

McClymonds is closed to students and staff

OUSD leaders meet with McClymonds staff at 9:00am at the Cole campus

A press conference is held at 1:30pm at McClymonds

A community meeting is held at 6:00pm at Taylor Memorial Church

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020

In an abundance of caution, district officials decide to close McClymonds campus to students and staff on Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, Feb. 21.

A robo-call is sent to all McClymonds families informing them of the closure.

An email is sent to all McClymonds staff informing them of the closure. Staff are asked to convene at the Cole campus on Thursday morning, Feb. 20, for more information.

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020

OUSD officials meet with County and State officials to learn more about the problem and discuss mitigation efforts.

Indoor air testing is scheduled to begin on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Friday, Feb. 14, 2020

OUSD is notified of hazardous material discovered in the groundwater (not drinking water) under McClymonds High School.

The hazardous material is Trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE is a volatile organic compound (VOC) widely used in industrial and commercial processes, and limited uses in consumer products. TCE is also used as a degreasing solvent, as a spotting agent for dry cleaning, and in consumer products.

The discovery was made as part of routine testing to close out a previous project.

Testing Schedule

Updated Monday, Feb. 24 at 12pm

Saturday, Feb. 22: Testing of the air in the Coach's Office and the Gym took place

Tuesday, Feb. 25: Testing of the air in the main building will commence

Wednesday, Feb. 26 - Friday, Feb. 28: Groundwater and soil vapor testing scheduled

TBD: Groundwater and soil vapor test in the area of the track and field at the corner near the fence line along 28th and Linden Street.

Please note: There are no tests planned for soil samples as the soil was non-detect for TCE in the areas where the groundwater showed elevated levels. The TCE impact to McClymonds is groundwater and not soil.