Features
N the Red Custodian Linda Vineyard cleans the sinks in the upstairs A-hallway bathroom after school. Photo by Emma Tomlinson.
Cleaning up FHS Faculty, students do their part to keep the building safe Grace Mossing mossigra000@hsestudents.org
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ith students returning to in-school learning, the custodial staff, teachers and students are now responsible for keeping the school clean and safe. In addition to wearing masks and being socially distant, the school focuses on disinfecting surfaces and organizing classrooms. The custodial staff kept working even through the pandemic, as they are essential workers. While the school was closed, they moved furniture to disinfect parts of the school rarely uncovered and cleaned up classrooms. Little changed for custodial roles when students and staff returned to school, but cleaning became more strict. They stay informed with the schoolwide calendar that shows every event held in the building. “The most important thing is knowing where they [students] have been,” head custodian Joy Kiskaden said. “If we don’t know that they’ve had a meeting or know they’re meeting in the cafeteria for a dinner, then we don’t know to clean after.” Kiskaden has added employees to the day shift to keep commonly touched areas and student and staff seating sanitized. The busiest part of their cleaning tends to be during the exodus of people from lunchrooms. “Everybody has stepped up,” Kiskaden said. “We have 99 tables to clean off in less than five minutes. We’ve had cafeteria workers help us, and some students and administrators have helped by just gathering rags and making sure the next group coming in has a disinfected table.” On top of teaching and counseling students, teachers have also picked up a new role as cleaners of their classrooms. Every teacher has a different
method when it comes to keeping their classrooms clean and organized. English teacher Erin Domokos spent three hours getting her room ready before students even got to school. She taped the floor and desks to mark where students could and could not sit. On top of in-school preparation, Domokos spent her summer stockpiling hand sanitizer and Kleenex, in case of a shortage in the schools. While in the classroom, students clean their own desks, and she makes sure to socially distance herself by staying in her desk area for most of the class. “A lot of students and teachers are in different places physically, mentally and emotionally with this [in-school learning],” Domokos said. “So if they can see that their teachers have been preparing and making sure that everything is as safe and structured and orderly as it can be, then that might give some people and their mental health a sense of control that could help them throughout the day.” Students such as sophomore Brooke Butts feel safer in school with cleaning precautions put in place. She believes that the disinfecting helps her know that the surfaces she touches are safe from germs. “In most of my classes, they just take the last five minutes of class and spray down the desks,” Butts said. “And then when I walk into my next class, they have us wipe them down. It’s really easy.” With custodians cleaning the building, teachers trying to focus on the organization and cleanliness of their classrooms, and students keeping their work areas disinfected, school has been able to stay open.
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