The regular attention that the shrubs and bushes around the district’s schools typically get this time of the year have been pushed aside for now. Like many schools across the country, administrators, and especially custodians, have been working overtime to make sure that the classrooms are a clean and safe as possible.
In fact, the district has gone to some pretty extensive measures to make sure that the recent diagnosis of a Corona virus patient creates a limited amount of concern for staff, students, and parents. The district has been monitoring developments of the COVID-19 virus throughout the weekend, and staying in close contact with health officials as well as local and state leadership. They have also been communicating with parents to keep them informed of the ongoing discussions and actions.
The schools will be open this week, as the district remains in the green tier of preparedness with increased precautions. The entire community is thankful for the amazing custodial staff. Last weekend every available custodian came to work and deep cleaned all 35 schools in the district. Additionally, the custodial staff is increasing daily cleaning, especially the areas that are touched the most like doorknobs, handles, and objects students and staff handle regularly. While this is precautionary for COVID-19, it is also helpful for the many other viruses that district routinely faces in their schools. And at a time when the district facilities staff would be out on mowers for the first cuttings of the season and the trimming of shrubs and bushes, the staff will make the inside of the building the top priority.
School Maintenance and Facilities Staffs Have a Wide Range of Responsibilities
As soon as the month of March arrives, many teachers, students, and parents begin a serious countdown. Knowing exactly how many days are left before the end of the school year, the focus is often on how great the weather is outside, trimming shrubs and bushes, mowing grassy areas around the school, trimming trees. As needs arise, however, staff members move inside to deal with broken boilers, faltering air conditioners, and, in a health crisis, with extra cleaning in the face of a threatening virus. From landscaping rocks and other landscaping supplies to a complete arsenal of cleaning supplies, custodial staff in schools face a wide range of maintenance tasks. The best workers, of course, approach every snow covered sidewalk and parking lot in the winter with the same attention to detail that they give the shrubs and bushes in the spring.
Not only approaching the tasks of the day with the greatest attention, the maintenance staffs in school districts across the country also have to transition from one priority to the next. Like maintenance staffs in buildings across the country, school custodians often wear many hats during the day. Being successful at any job, of course, requires flexibility. And while there may be many times when jobs can fall into a routine, there are also many times when it is necessary to set routines aside and deal with the greatest need. As many as 67% of Americans agree that professional landscaping would allow them to have a nicer yard, according to a recent survey by Harris Poll for the National Association of Landscape Professionals, but school sitarists typically rely on their own custodial staffs to take care of both the inside and the outside appearance of a property.
What is your school district’s plan for emergency situations? From large scale weather events to the threat of a wide reading virus, schools, businesses, and entire communities are getting better at being prepared. Knowing that the ultimate goal is to keep workers, students, and customers safe, however, helps direct the focus of many work days. Being prepared for any kind of natural or human disaster is more common in a time of constant global travel and economics. From classrooms to boardrooms, students, workers, administrators, and executives depend on safety plans. Safety plans the consider everything from extreme weather events to widespread illnesses.
Fortunately, there are still many times when calmness is normal and school custodial staffs can get back to trimming bushes and trees in the spring.
