Our school is full of staff members that most students aren’t aware of. Interest in writing about the school custodians grew due to the lack of knowledge surrounding their responsibilities within this building and to put a spotlight on how unrepresented and unappreciated they are. They aren’t getting highlighted on any media platforms and aren’t getting thanked enough.
According to lead night custodian Mckenna McVicker, our building houses eight custodians but would need 11 in order to be properly staffed. They have two different shifts. A morning shift that starts from 5:30 A.M. to 2:00 P.M., and two custodians work that shift. While the rest of the crew comes in at 1:45 P.M. and works until 10:00 P.M.
“Weekend events and anything in the building past 10:15 on weekdays requires a custodian or two to come in and work overtime to keep the building open and clean up after,” fellow custodian Jennifer Sherman says.
That incentivizes students to clean up after themselves because it creates so much more time out of the custodian’s days due to needing to work overtime.
We were gifted with this new building in 2020 ,and our custodians work hard to keep it in great condition. With that means student help is appreciated and very much needed. Participation can occur by making sure your food ends up in the trash can and picking up after yourself.
“The main problem we face here at McDaniel is graffiti and vandalism. Not only does it make the school bad, but it takes a lot of time out of the limited time we have to clean the school appropriately,” McVicker said.
The chemicals they use to clean are super harsh on their lungs, so think again before you decide to doodle on something other than paper. According to Sherman, most of the graffiti she assumes is due to teenage rebellion. She then adds that when the vandalism occurs on the tile instead of the stall wall, it’s easier for her to clean and therefore means she doesn’t need to inhale as much graffiti remover.
If you happen to see any vandalism, please report it to one of the custodians as soon as possible so it’s easier to remove. if you have comments or questions they’re all ears. They are such a kind group of people that are here to help and create an easier learning environment for all of you.
“We may not look like it much but we do appreciate it when you thank us when you see us doing our jobs,” said custodian Jessica Schroeder.
We have bins all around the school that don’t get used properly.
“Learn what is and is not recyclable, when in doubt throw it out, there is always a ton of trash mixed in with the recycling which usually means it all gets thrown out,” said Sherman.
This takes a hit to our environment when it takes no extra time out of your day to just chuck it in the other bin. On each trash can around the school, there are two openings, one that is a clear recycling sign and reads “recycling” and the other reads “trash” and has a McDaniel logo plastered to the front of it.
According to Sherman who is speaking on behalf of the custodial staff, They are very fortunate here to have half of “our” union’s (SEIU 503 sublocal 140) executive team on staff here.
“We have been able to directly address a lot of our major concerns easier than most, but next year we will be going back to the bargaining table again, this time at the same time as two other PPS unions (PAT and PFSP) and look forward to building community solidarity as that work begins ramping up,” Sherman said.
Some staff members that were not quoted or mentioned that I would like to shout out for all their hard work are Manny Mariscal, our head custodian; and our other custodians that include Cody Baez, Brian Hanson, Jimmy Levine, Willie Williams and Claudene Stewart.
We are lucky to have a building that supports us in so many ways. It’s our job to keep it in the best condition possible and that starts with respecting the people in the building that dedicate themselves to that cause. Listed were countless opportunities to support.
