The first day of high school for teens is usually filled with a variety of emotions — excitement, nerves or even dread.
But with that day just one week away, Kennedy High students are facing much more: They won’t know until later this week where to even show up for classes on Aug. 18.
The campus was shut down last week after preliminary testing found a chemical solvent, tetrachloroethylene (PCE), in the soil on campus. The state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) ran tests to see if it’s also in the air, as can happen when it vaporizes, and those results, expected to be released Thursday, could force the campus to be temporarily relocated until it can be remediated.
Kennedy High community meetings
What: There are several ways you can voice your concerns about the Kennedy High toxic chemical discovery: A private Kennedy High community summit; a public health meeting; and Wednesday’s school board meeting.
When: Student summit, including finalizing student registration, is Tue., Aug. 11, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; the public health meeting is Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.; the school board meeting is 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: The Summit is at DeJean Middle School Multipurpose Room, 3400 Macdonald Ave.; public health meeting registration is online here; and the school board meeting is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at DeJean.
WCCUSD is investigating alternative places where students could start school, including the Craneway Pavilion on Harbour Way South, Contra Costa College in San Pablo or other school and city properties.
Instead of holding an orientation to help students prepare for the new year, the district will hold a student summit for current and rising students and families on Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., at DeJean Middle School where campus administrators are currently working and registering the student body.
“We are taking care to ensure that the student forum tomorrow is a supportive environment for our students and families and is focused on their questions and needs,” a WCCUSD spokesperson told Richmondside via email.
The district is also hosting a community public health webinar on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. and will discuss the issue at the school board meeting on Wednesday night. It also will likely hold another town hall Thursday, but those details haven’t been finalized.
At a cross-agency town hall meeting last Thursday, more than 200 people attended in person and virtually.
Tanquisha Miles, a mother of two Kennedy high students, said she went in person because she was genuinely concerned for her daughters’ well being after learning the news.
The two girls were on campus multiple times a week in July for volleyball practice and conditioning because the season starts this month. She said her daughter Nylah Miles, had been getting more sleepy than usual.
“Before the issue even came to the forefront. I was concerned about her because she was sleeping a lot,” Tanquisha Miles told Richmondside. “And then all of a sudden, we get this news, and I immediately start to Google what are the symptoms and possible health conditions. When I read sleepiness, drowsiness, I started panicking off the bat.”
Nylah said she was upset that her volleyball practices were cut short. She was enjoying coming to campus because it was helping her get accustomed to it before the start of school.
It’s not the first time she has been impacted by a sudden school closure. Her middle school time at DeJean, was radically transformed when Stege Elementary was abruptly shut down in 2024 just weeks before the school year start. The elementary schoolers were transferred to her middle school.
“I wanted to, like, be in all the other (DeJean) buildings, but we only had two available (for middle schoolers),” Nylah said. “So it was a lot of kids in one classroom. There was like 38 (students) in our history class, but it was supposed to have like 20.”
Her sister, Taylin Miles, is a rising sophomore who also plays volleyball. She said the chemical discovery definitely put a damper on the school year. She was excited to go back and had even already picked out her first day of school outfit.
“I can’t explain it, but like, I pictured it in some way, and now it’s not gonna be like how I imagined it. So, like, that’s annoying,” Taylin said.
She also added that she’s not too nervous about any health risks and trusts that the district won’t let her come onto campus until it’s safe.
However, their mother says she is very nervous. The family has been living a couple blocks away from Kennedy for 13 years.
“We are just finding out about this now but it’s been near us for years,” Tanquisha Miles said.
In April the state became aware that tetrachloroethylene was present in the soil about 500 feet from the campus and recommended that the district conduct testing. Kennedy tests were performed in July, and on July 31 the district was notified that the gas was found in the campus soil; last Monday it was announced that the campus, including the city pool there, were closed pending further testing; then Wednesday’s school board meeting was cancelled as district officials scrambled to come up with a relocation plan for about 625 students.
But the DTSC has been investigating neighborhoods for PCE exposure in South Richmond and citywide for more than 20 years. It’s investigating seven dry cleaner chemical contamination cases in the Richmond area plus several other sites.
The DTSC suspects that the contamination at Kennedy is from a plume near the Miraflores housing development. PCE is a manufactured, clear, nonflammable liquid chemical with a sweet, ether-like odor commonly used in dry cleaning (up until about 2023). The vapor, a carcinogen that can cause various health problems, depending on the level and length of exposure, can come from the outside air and/or infiltrate buildings through sewer lines and foundation cracks.
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“I don’t know if I feel comfortable sending my kids back.”
— Tanquisha Miles, mother of two Kennedy High students
Most exposure happens when someone breathes air containing PCE vapor. At high concentrations it can cause dizziness, headaches, sleepiness, eye or respiratory irritation, and changes in mood or coordination, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Tanquisha Miles said she is appreciative that the district set up community meetings and has been sharing information online to help understand this, but there is so much more she and her neighbors don’t know.
There are also other school sites nearby these PCE sources, such as King Elementary.
“I don’t know if I feel comfortable sending my kids back,” she said. “It’s already been so long that it’s been an issue. So what can they do to make me feel better? I don’t even know what that would look like right now.”
So what is the city/state going to do test/mitigate these toxic gases for the community who also live in the proximity of the school?
Hi Jay, This FAQ article might answer that question for you. So far the state says the residences it has tested in the area are OK. And this health article mentions some things concerned homeowners might do.