Sometimes, students don’t pay attention to our custodians, quietly working so hard and doing so much to keep our school beautiful. Maybe it’s time to change that.
Eva Hernandez De Cruz is an OH custodian who has been working here for 22 years. “On a regular basis, I work five days a week,” De Cruz said, “but if there is overtime, I stay here.”
De Cruz has a normal schedule like all custodians. She starts working at 6:00 in the morning and leaves at 4:30 p.m., hours after most of the student body.
“In the mornings,” said De Cruz proudly, “we [custodians] open doors, we turn on the lights, set everything up, and fix whatever we need to.”
De Cruz is a very hard worker. It is easy to see that she is always in a good mood, and she does everything possible to get the best out of her work.
OH Spanish teacher Francisca Castellanos said, “Eva is a great person. If you need something, you can trust her. Iif you have a question or something, you can ask her and she will help you solve your problems.”
Being a custodian is not an easy job, and there are admittedly bad things and good things she said that go along with all jobs.
“The best part of my job is when young people say hello, good morning and smile,” De Cruz admitted. “and also when I can help parents who don’t speak English, that makes me feel good.” She paused a moment, and added, “the worst part is when I have to take care of [something] or lift something and no one helps me.”
Custodians have to do a lot of different things every day with not much help. It can be difficult at times because it is a hands-on job, and the workers are always on their feet.
Reporter David Rode from BoredTeachers said, “When schools went virtual in the early days of COVID, they didn’t need much maintenance or cleaning, and that meant many of those workers left to go find other jobs. Now that schools are trying to get back to normal, they’re finding those workers aren’t so keen to come back. The issue is the same with substitute teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and more.”
It’s taken a lot of time to recover from COVID-19 and the recent changes with the Board of Education. Not just OH but schools all over the nation are experiencing a shortage of staff. So custodians have to do extra for their jobs just to keep up with the lack of workers.
Castellanos said, “I think it is difficult. I don’t know how they do it because so many things happen in this school, and they have to clean up after everyone. If I was a custodian, I don’t think I could do it.”
This job could seem hard to some and to others just undesirable. It may not be a job someone sees for their future, but it is one that is needed.
Junior Julius King said, “Custodians work very hard to ensure the cleanliness of our school, cleaning up after teenagers isn’t exactly the most enjoyable job, I definitely think they should be more appreciated because they are people, not maids.”
It is important for people like De Cruz to be noticed more often. She is such a kind-hearted person who cares so much about OH and the students.
De Cruz said, “I think that students are like family. Even though they don’t all know each other, they are the future of tomorrow and we adults have to make sure everything comes out well for them.”
Custodians deserve more recognition for not just what they do but for how they feel. Maybe not all custodians feel this way, and for some, it’s a temporary job, but for others, this job is their forever.
Hello, I am a reporter for 42fifty, this is my first year on the team and I am a junior graduate. I really enjoy writing for this website, it allows me to write about anything that's in my interest. You can contact me at 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
