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Oakland Unified School District

Environmental Safety at McClymonds

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:

Latest Communications

 

Recent Resources

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

Monday, Mar. 2

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

Thursday, Feb. 27 2020

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020

Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020

Monday, Feb. 24, 2020

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020

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

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.