'Common' Mold Found in Thomas Jefferson Elementary

JOLIET, IL — A “common” mold was found in seven rooms at Thomas Jefferson Elementary, located at 1900 Oxford Way in Joliet, over the past week.

The school’s principal notified administration after noticing the mold, which was identified as Cladosporium, a common and generally not dangerous kind of mold, according to District 202 Director of Community Relations Tom Hernandez.

The mold was found in "Rooms 111, 112, 113, 115, 120, 121 and 122 and on several pieces of furniture in those rooms," he said.

Mold grows in hot and humid conditions, and the weather last week likely contributed to the growth, Hernandez said.

Six of the affected rooms have been cleaned by professional cleaning company Servpro, and furniture on which mold was found has been thrown out. The seventh room will be cleaned this week.

Hernandez said there is no reason for concern and the mold should not affect the start of the school year.

“Please remember that certain levels of mold are acceptable as determined by health officials, and that there is mold in the air we breathe every day, depending on the weather,” Hernandez said. “The level of mold that was found was well below those acceptable levels.”

Mold was found in Plainfield Academy a couple of years ago and the school closed for a few days.

“If there’s ever a problem we will tell staff, parents and the community aggressively and proactively as we have in the past,” Hernandez said.

• Photos courtesy of a Patch reader.