938687 Pd 4 Rotten Administration Reasons for the Cover-up of Mold in Rolling Terrace should be Investigated There are many

different types of mold, most harmless, some deadly. To someone who does not study mold, these two are indistinguishable. No sensory differences are noticeable between the two types. Similarly, no differences are noticeable between the symptoms of a harmful mold disease and a common virus. Knowing this, the parents of students at Rolling Terrace worry about their childrens coughs and sore throats are understandable, seeing as unidentified mold has been growing in the school all year. Having children in a school with mold could be very dangerous, especially when the students, and their parents, are unaware of the problem. Keeping large numbers of children in a potentially dangerous area is ill advised. It could be put down to a mistake if there was a logical reason; such as the mold being passed over by accident. But when the mold and its dangers are known by the principal, and then the executive decision is made to keep the school open, there are deep moral issues. Jennifer Collins, principal of Rolling Terrace, regrets not telling parents earlier about the mold, so they could make decisions for themselves. She also believed that the school was not unsafe at the time, according to Washington Post reporter Donna St. George. She made these statements after additional mold had been found. Outbreaks that were present in the first two weeks are, according to Collins, gone and are not coming back. Unfortunately, seeing the lack of action in the last month, this thought isnt reassuring. The problem is larger than just Rolling Terrace, as more than 40 schools in the area have been affected by mold in the last 10 years, according to school officials. That being said, no other school has ever had a problem this widespread, or one that took so long to address. James Song,

Director of Facility Management for Montgomery County schools, assisted Principal Collins with the cleanup. The county did much of the cleaning under his direction, and even hired a private firm to determine whether the school is safe. Meanwhile, it took Collins 22 days after she was made aware of the mold to hire one health inspector. Many parents whose children became ill are angered. The parents at Rolling Terrace are currently making a committee to confront the school about their action on the issue. Not the mold issue, which is under control at this moment; the issue they face now is a principal who was aware that children were in possible danger and did nothing about it. Mrs. Collins was negligent and completely disregarded her students and their parents. She knew that there was mold before school started, yet waited until the second week of school to reveal that information, and took another four days to officially inform the parents of her students. She placed children in what could have been an extremely harmful situation, instead of closing the school down for a few days. There are many reasons that she could have done this, but in the end the result was the same. Fully knowing the dangers, without consulting any parents, Mrs. Collins exposed children to a harmful fungus.