COVID-19 at Bells Mill Elementary School

March 12, 2021 Dear Bells Mill Elementary School Parents and Families, This letter is to inform you that an individual who was last present at Bells Mill Elementary School between March 8th and March 9th, 2021, has tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19). Following Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) guidelines, we notified individuals who were known to have direct contact with this individual and have advised them to quarantine for 14 days. Per current DHHS guidance and our contact tracing process, unless you are notified directly, your child does not need to be tested or quarantined as they were not in direct contact with the person who tested positive for COVID-19. Direct contact is defined as: being within approximately 6 feet (2 meters) of an individual with COVID-19 for a prolonged period of time (e.g., being in the same office or classroom as a positive and symptomatic individual), or having direct contact with the infectious secretions from an individual with COVID-19 (e.g., being coughed on). Note: The definition of “close contact” does not include all other individuals on the same floor or in the same building as a positive individual, unless they also meet criteria (1) or (2). We encourage you to closely monitor your child for symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath. If your child develops any of these symptoms, do not send them to school. You should contact your healthcare provider immediately for advice. Please contact the school if your child develops COVID-19-like symptoms. Students who develop symptoms, or test positive for COVID-19, will not be able to return to the building until they are medically cleared. As a reminder, here are the steps that we can all take to keep ourselves, families and school community safe: Wear a mask, or appropriate face covering, at all times when in school and other public spaces. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, especially before and after eating. Cover your cough and/or sneeze and immediately wash your hands for 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer. Practice physical distancing and keep 6 feet away from others when possible. Stay home if you are sick. Visit montgomeryschoolsmd.org/COVID19 and montgomerycountymd.gov/COVID19 for additional information. We appreciate your cooperation as we work to maintain a safe and healthy school environment. Sincerely, Dr. Stacy L. Smith Principal Bells Mill Elementary School

WUSA9: MCPS parents concerned about wireless routers in school

Radiation Measured at Bells Mill Elementary School

Parents raise concerns that WIFI networks could pose a health risk to students and staff because of “unsafe" radiation emissions.

PRLog - Feb. 16, 2015 - POTOMAC, Md. -- Local parents, teachers and citizens have formed Safe Tech for Schools Maryland (STSM) to push for "Safe Technology" in schools.  They are raising awareness on the serious health risk that wireless radiation (also known as radio frequency radiation RF-EMF) poses to students and staff. The group advocates for an ethernet based (non-wireless) network that would have zero radiation emissions.

“Children should not be experimented on in school, period.  There are safer , faster, and greener ways to access the internet.  Our conscience and moral compass should be our guide,” stated a parent.

The coalition was founded after a Montgomery County Maryland parent requested a report on the radio frequency radiation levels at her child's school, Bells Mill Elementary.  The radiation levels at the school were high enough to be considered "unsafe" by the Los Angeles School District as well as health advocacy groups who have long argued that FCC guidelines do not protect children.

Safe Tech for Schools Maryland quotes the American Academy of Pediatrics 2013 letter to the FCC calling for stronger radiation guidelines stating that children are “more vulnerable” to wireless radiation and need to be better protected. STSM cites "credible" research showing increased cancer risk, neurological damage and reproductive system damage from low level wireless exposures.

Harvard pediatric neurologist and autism expert Dr. Martha Herbert stated, “EMF/RFR from wifi and cell towers can exert a disorganizing effect on the ability to learn and remember, and can also be destabilizing to immune and metabolic function. This will make it harder for some children to learn, particularly those who are already having problems in the first place.” Dr. Erica Mallery-Blythe, emergency room physician of the Physicians' Health Initiative for Radiation and Environment has recommended “ASAP withdraw all RF Emissions” in her November 2014 scientific presentation on children and RF.

The new group is calling on local school districts and the Maryland Department of Education to turn off the wireless routers and install safe wired routers and ethernet connected computer systems in schools.They note that parents are often surprised to learn that industrial strength routers used in schools are far more powerful than home routers because they are accommodating up to 30 devices in a room. The level of radiation is further elevated from each device emitting radiation.

Maryland school districts have previously responded to parents concerns by stating that radiation levels are “within FCC limits”. However, this group counters that  FCC radiation regulations are 18 years old, under current reassessment and “do not protect children”. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) a district with over 500,000 students has set safety thresholds at radiation levels 10,000 times lower than FCC standards because of research showing cellular damage at levels lower than the FCC regulations. The radiation levels measured by MCPS at Bells Mill Elementary school were much higher than limits LAUSD set.

Parents who have been addressing this issue in their local schools for the last few years have now connected across the state of Maryland and are taking various actions. For example, parents recently requested  WiFi radiation readings in neighboring Prince George's County but was denied by CEO Dr. Maxwell due to “fiscal constraints” .

Parents testified to the Montgomery County Board of Education on their concerns about wireless networks in schools on October 14, 2014 and February 10, 2015. They also sent MCPS Department of Health Education Supervisor Cara Grant information on safe tech for MCPS curriculum development. Parents have testified several times on the issue to Prince Georges County Public Schools and have provided safety information for PGCPS 2014 Bring Your Own Device Policy.

Parents met with then Governor Martin O'Malley on the issue in October and the State Superintendent of Education Lillian Lowery's Chief of Staff over the summer. In a letter to a parent dated April 23, 2014, Maryland Secretary of Health Joshua Sharfstein M.D. stated that The Department's Environmental Health Bureau reviewed recent scientific reviews. Dr. Sharfstein concluded that, “It is fair to say there are legitimate long term health implications of microwave radiation.”

PTAs and Teacher Unions are calling for removal of WiFi networks because of the radiation.

The coalition made up of parents and citizens from all over the state, started a blog at http://safetechforschoolsmaryland.blogspot.com/

The coalition plans on coordinating local and state efforts to raise awareness to expedite the installation of hard wired (non wireless) technology in schools. 

http://www.prlog.org/12425033-state-coalition-formed-after-radiation-measured-at-maryland-elementary-school.html

 

 

   Herbert Carpenter by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Bells Mill ES Parent: "I want to scream"

"most of the time marginalized...very disappointed...very difficult to have someone listen to you...it's my child's life and they are playing around with my child's life..."

PTA Says Avoid Retaining Walls

From the Churchill Cluster PTA public comment to the Board of Education on November 14, 2011:

...School Security Systems - New schools need to have a Safety and Security
Representative in the planning process.  Following the construction of Bells Mill ES and
Cabin John MS, it has become apparent that a Safety and Security Representative
should be placed on all future new school construction and planning boards. Schools
would be able to avoid the following concerns: 

• The stairwells and many spaces in Cabin John MS are all glass.  Although very
attractive, during an evacuation due to severe weather or criminal activity the
stairwells are left unprotected and vulnerable to the situation. 

• At Cabin John MS large walls with approximately 15 foot drops were built.  These high walls in proximity to both athletic fields and walkways, should be avoided in future designs.  

• All schools have the need of security cameras and a security specialist will be able
to incorporate the most efficient use of a system in the planning of site...

The Lost School Planning Process

In light of the recent issues surrounding school construction projects, including the surprise 14 foot retaining wall and hundreds of thousands of dollars* in damages to neighbors' property, here is a little history lesson from 2005 when Montgomery County citizens lost significant input into school construction decisions. 

In 1986, the Montgomery County Board of Education enacted a comprehensive Long Range Planning Process. The Policy, listed as Policy FAA, was crafted after extensive community input over an extended period of time. The late Councilmember Marilyn Praisner was on the Board of Education when that 1986 Policy was passed.

But when Superintendent Jerry Weast rode into town, he wasn't so keen on following those 21 pages of Board Policy. And so in 2005 the Board of Education, including current President Patricia O'Neill, gutted the Policy and reduced the 21 pages to 5. 

       Councilmember Marilyn Praisner was not pleased and wrote a letter to the Board of Education. From the April 20, 2005 Gazette article on the Policy change:

County Councilwoman Marilyn J. Praisner (D-Dist. 4) of Calverton was a school board member when the current policy was adopted in 1986 after a series of meetings with the community and the council of PTAs. "It was a real concerted effort on the part of the board to place a great deal of clarity and transparency into the facility planning process," she said.

Praisner said the "overarching implications" of the policy -- which can affect issues from land use to budgets -- prompted her to write a letter to the board. 

"I don't think the board appreciates the history of the policy," she said. 

The policy was written when the county was closing schools and community input was just as important as it is now, as the county builds new schools and reopens some of the very same schools it closed in the 1970s and 1980s, Praisner said.

What did Montgomery County citizens, parents and students lose when Policy FAA was gutted in 2005? Take a look. Below is what the Policy looked like up until 2005. Then you can read today's 5 page version here.  

The bottom line is that the bulk of school facility planning has been turned over to the Superintendent. Many school facility decisions are now made out of the public view. 

Maybe someday the original 21 page Policy FAA, with all of its community input and transparency will be revived, and MCPS school construction projects will stop "surprising" parents, students, teachers, neighbors, and communities. 

   Policy FAA 2003 Version by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

*see comment below

MCPS damages neighbors property, so taxpayers will pay

As a follow up to the recent news about the Cabin John Middle School surprise "Wall" that is now going to be reconfigured after community protests, take a look at the damage MCPS did when constructing the Bells Mill Elementary School. 


Who is paying for all this damage and these construction "surprises?" You are - the taxpayers. 


Potomac Almanac: Good Neighbor
MCPS says it is willing to mend the damage done to neighboring properties during school construction.

...Officials from Montgomery County Public Schools say they are willing to take responsibility for damage to landscape, sod and drainage problems caused by the construction project that several nearby property owners were unhappy with from the beginning.

Hideko Takahashi’s home is so close to Bells Mill that her wooden fence technically stands on school property. But the fence posts alongside Takashi’s cypress landscaping have been damaged and the grass uprooted, leading to complications with water run-off in her yard. Takahashi said she repeatedly approached MCPS with a "break it — buy it" mentality.

"They should respect your property," said Takahashi...

..."They know my requests are reasonable," said Jorge Cardona, whose property parallels the school and consequently suffered water damage to his yard and flooding in his basement. Cardona has been living in his home for 27 years and said he never saw a drop of water on the interior until construction on the new school began.

"It came from the school in droves," said Cardona, referring to the water run-off that forced him to replace the tile flooring in his basement. But Cardona described MCPS officials as receptive to evaluating his property damage that resulted from the construction...

...SUCH DAMAGE was among the concerns voiced by several Bells Mill neighbors who opposed the construction project before it began early last year. The neighbors said they were not able to dissuade the county’s school system from progressing with their chosen design, which was intended originally for a property on Kendale Road and then was subsequently relocated to the smaller Bells Mill site when the Kendale plan was abandoned in the face of public resistance...