Some parents at Savoy Elementary School in Southeast D.C. are outraged over a bed bug and rodent problem at their children’s school. The school closed on Feb. 6 and 7, with students being relocated indefinitely. With the infestation considered “persistent” by District of Columbia Public Schools, parents worry the temporary move may become permanent.
The cancellation of classes at Savoy Elementary School in Southeast D.C. was extended due to persistent rodent and bed bug infestation. (Photo by LaTrina Antoine)
The first notification of rodent infestation in the Anacostia school came as students returned from holiday break on Jan. 16. Savoy administrators released a statement that read in part: “Currently Savoy is on an action plan with D. C. Department of General Services’ (DGS) pest control division and pest control technicians have been providing services and monitoring three days a week. A mass trapping was conducted over the winter holiday. The pest control company has performed an extensive assessment of the school and identified areas of concentration that need to be cleaned up as well as entry points in the building structure that need to be plugged. DGS is also working with DOH Rodent Control at Savoy this week.”
But for Dorothea Gipson, whose serves as primary caregiver to three grandchildren attending Savoy, the notice raised concerns, rather than offering clarity. “When you send a notice saying that a ‘mass trapping’ has taken place, it says that the problem is already out of control. Rats carry diseases and if the school needs services on hand three times a week, there needs to be a different protocol for keeping our kids from being exposed to vermin,” Gipson told the AFRO. “I am terrified of rats and I don’t feel the environment is safe, so I am working to get the children homeschooled.”
Gipson is concerned that the original notice said unequivocally that bed bugs were not an issue on the campus, aside from two separate incidents where a student and an adult brought them in. The notice Gipson showed the AFRO stated the bed bug “concerns had been immediately addressed,” yet by Feb. 3, both the rodent and bed bug problems required immediate action.
Aaron Doughty, another Savoy Elementary parent, said his 9-and 10-year-old daughters, both had bite marks on them when the bed bug problem originally broke out in December, he said. “They won’t be back because they have several bites on them and I’m very concerned about the situation,” he said. “I will not be sending them to school,” Doughty told Fox5 News. “I made a few calls and once I hear something back about them properly taking care of the situation, then I will consider sending them back, but I have to protect them.”
Authorities estimate a period of several weeks to clean the school and replace all soft items – such as rugs, cots, blankets, and pillows. Some students were taken by bus to nearby Ferebee Elementary School, with meal programs being administered at Barry Farms Recreation Center through Feb. 7.
“Weeks went by and I figured with construction everywhere in the city, there may be an occasional problem with mice in a school, but nothing like this,” Quanshee Vance, an Anacostia resident who lives near Savoy, told the AFRO. “When you get to a point where the kids and the employees are subject to rats and bed bugs, it suggests there is a lack of sanitation. No one should be subjected to those types of conditions in a learning or work environment.”