Anacostia-based Savoy Elementary School closed Monday because the school was too infested with bed bugs and other pests.
D.C. Public Schools announced Friday that the shut down, slated for Monday and Tuesday, was impending because the building needs a “thorough cleaning,” The Washington Post reports.
For now, students at Savoy will be relocated to Ferebee Hope Elementary School beginning Wednesday. Officials will be providing transportation between the school locations.
Savoy Chancellor Antwan Wilson assured parents that staff would be replacing all blankets, rugs, pillows, etc., and also said that once the school is cleaned, health officials will examine the building to make sure it’s up to snuff.
In late January, Fox 5 reported that parents at the school were absolutely enraged at the deplorable conditions their children were forced to learn in. Parents added that professional bug exterminators had already been brought to the school without much success.
One parent wasn’t even aware of the bed bug infestation until they saw it reported on Fox 5.
“This is not how you should notify parents of rats and bed bugs. I had to see it on the news. Then, the school doesn’t notify the parents until 4 days later,” the parent said.
Before the school said it was temporarily shutting down, Aaron Doughty, another parent, said he would not let his bed bug-bitten kids back to Savoy until officials take the problem seriously.
“They won’t be back because they have several bites on them and I’m very concerned about the situation,” Doughty said. “I will not be sending them to school.”
According to Doughty, who showed pictures of the bites on his daughters, the problem started appearing around Christmas and has since only escalated. Doughty added that the school nurse told him months ago the school was infested with bed bugs.
But it’s now in February that officials have finally decided the school needs to close temporarily.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama visited the school in 2013 and told students that they were “blessed to have this school” and also that “no one is born smart.”
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