Custodial Services

Sharon L. Boyd, MA, RBSM, C.P.T., Custodial Supervisor

Custodial Services coordinates many activities beyond the mere cleaning of the building at each of our locations. We open the door before the first person arrives and close it at the end of the day. We arrange rooms for meetings, ensure the buildings and grounds are presentable as well as safe, perform minor maintenance, take cars of the sick children, act as role models for students. On top of that, we clean, thereby ensuring that the building is ready each day to support the delivery of instruction in clean, sanitary and safe surroundings.

Trash Collection

Dumpster pick- up service is performed on a weekly basis by an outside contractor. Frequency is based on need. Typically it is 1 to 2 times a week. If you have problems, please contact us.

Recycling

We are a single stream recycler, which means we try to recycle everything that our recycling contractor accepts. Currently that list includes newspaper, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, cardboard, copier paper, and anything that has the international recycling symbol on it. We urge every school to utilize boxes in each classroom to segregate recycling from trash. You will soon discover that almost all your waste is in the recycle box, not in the trash can. Please, DO NOT put anything that contains food waste in the recycling container, even if it otherwise would be recyclable. We pay a fine to the contractor if they have to manually remove such items from our waste stream. Every school also has a blue recycling trash cans strategically placed around the building, like beside drink machines. Please use these as well as the classroom boxes. The large recycling containers outside are currently emptied on a once a week basis. As your school-based recycling program takes root, we can increase the frequency of picks–ups.

Pest Control

We use Integrated Pest Management practices (IPM) which are environmentally sensitive approaches to pest management. It is a three part practice using inspections, identification, and treatment, all done by professionals. Pest control technicians do monthly inspections of all schools and buildings. In order to reduce the amount of pest problems everyone needs to do their part by following these practices: (a) Food and beverages should be eaten only in designated areas (b) Food should be kept in glass, metal, or plastic containers, instead of being left out in the open and accessible to pest. (c) Routinely clean out lockers, student desks (d), keep entry doors closed (e) store animal food in tightly sealed containers, clean cages regularly (f) make sure your plants are healthy. If you have pest problems please call Custodial Services or submit a School Dude work order request.

Summer Cleaning

This is performed by the custodial staff at each school and consist of washing all furniture, cleaning all carpets, washing windows, cleaning light diffusers, replacing stained ceiling tiles, replacing lights, washing walls, cleaning corners, baseboards, ledges, dusting, washing chalkboards, trays, cleaning vents, de-gumming furniture, sanitizing restrooms, pressure washing cafeteria tables, scrub / strip hard surface floors, apply finish to floors, switching of classrooms at principal’s request, and burnishing floors. Cleaning summer school classrooms, and performing minor repairs are also part of the routine. When the custodians have finished cleaning the buildings each year they are entered in the Summer Cleaning Contest which rewards the team at the highest rated elementary, secondary and support category buildings There is intense competition for the bragging rights that winning this award brings.

Work Schedules

Work schedules list the many tasks done in the order in which they are performed in a time frame. By using work schedules, it aids the custodians in making economical use of time and effort. Each custodian has a schedule to clean assigned areas throughout the school. The schedules should be posted in the custodial office for viewing. All work schedules are approved by the Custodial Supervisor.

Broken Custodial Equipment

This is handled by the custodial repairman whose repairs could range from replacing plug ends, to rebuilding the machine, to installing a motor in it. Some of the equipment he’s responsible for are: vacuum cleaners, floor machines, wet/ dry vac, pressure washer’s, floor blowers, high speed buffers, carpet extractors, Kaivac machine, auto-scrubbers, backpack vacuums, and some minor repairs to the propane burnish machine. He also sweeps the parking lot when requested. Work orders are used to do this via School Dude.

Floor Care

Schools have a night shift that is responsible for all floor maintenance such as spray-buffing, light scrubbing, restoration of floors and carpet cleaning. However, there is a floor crew that once a week goes to every school and uses a propane burnishing machine to burnish corridors. This enhances the appearance and polish of the floor finish. The crew also assists the smaller schools with classroom floor maintenance twice-a- month. Corridors should be dust-mopped three (3) to (4) four times a day. Entrance mats should be vacuumed twice- a- day. Re-finishing corridors by first light scrubbing and then re- applying one or two coats of finish takes place every four months.

Training

Our custodial trainer is providing fundamental knowledge of cleaning practices. It does not mean custodians do not clean well, it just that we want them to perform their jobs more efficiently. The trainer has set up classes, sanctioned by the Cleaning Management Institute, a national standards setting organization, on a voluntary basis for custodians to a achieve certification. Certification covers fields of chemistry of cleaning, hard floor cleaning, carpet cleaning, above floor cleaning and restroom cleaning. Our goal is to clean our building in the most effective, economical and efficient means we are able.

Supervisory Structure

Our supervisory structure consists of four area supervisors and they are responsible for specific buildings throughout the division.

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Area Supervisors are the front line management for a wide range of issues that arise in the custodial department. They can assist the building principal in managing the school-based work force by relaying and enforcing the expectations of the building administrator. They also reinforce the expectations and performance standards set by the Custodial Supervisor. They provide counseling and instruction in best practices as well as acting as a pick-up and delivery service for supplies and equipment. If the building administrator has performance issues with their assigned custodial staff, we encourage them to utilize the Area Supervisors in the resolution of the issues.