McClymonds High remains closed all week; students will attend other campuses, take field trips

Oakland's McClymonds High School will remain closed for the remainder of the week, as the district awaits final test results about a toxic chemical discovered on school grounds.

In the meantime, the district held two meetings on Monday at the West Oakland Middle School library, telling parents what was in store for their students. A total of 350 students attend the school. Ninth graders will have class at Ralph Bunchie Academy, 10th and 11th graders will attend West Oakland Middle School and 12th graders will go to Westlake for the rest of the week. 

TCE was found at McClymonds High.

In addition, since space is limited at other campuses, McClymonds' students will be gong on several field trips including to the African-American History Museum, Angel Island, the DeYoung Museum, Chabot Space and Science Center and to the Grand Lake Theater, where they will watch a documentary on homelessness. 

Don't forget to download our new and improved KTVU mobile app

Students will also not be punished for late assignments that were due this week. 

Still, parents at the meeting said they were concerned their students would fall behind. 

"We're just going on field trips," student Natasha William said. "We should be focusing on our school work." 

McClymonds has been closed since Thursday because of the discovery of a known cancer-causing chemical found on the school grounds. The chemical is called TCE or trichloroethylene. It was found in the groundwater under the school .but not in the drinking water.        

The exact source of the contamination hasn't been identified yet.

The concern is whether vapors from that chemical may be in the air and the ventilation system at the school.

Preliminary tests done on Saturday, show that the air appears to be safe.

But Oakland school district officials will keep the McClymonds campus closed, until they get final lab test results, later this week.

The school district will conduct a second round of testing expected to begin on Wednesday to ensure that it's safe for students and staff to return to campus. 

McClymonds High in Oakland.