When the school day is done, Calvin Manning’s day hits high gear.
For almost two years, Manning has been a “custodial worker” at Ed Coles Elementary School in South Chicago. He cleans up after about 1,053 kids.
Manning takes pride in a job well-done. Besides, he has three kids of his own, so stuff like throw-up doesn’t throw him off.
“It’s just part of the job,” he says.
One of Manning’s messiest chores is cleaning the lunch room. “We do a lot of mopping in the cafeteria,” he says. Spaghetti makes the most mess.
Outside of the lunchroom, the hardest spill to battle is paint.
“It’s a good thing they use washable paint. And it’s still tough to get up,” Manning says.
It helps to be a pro cleaner.
“We’re armed with the best equipment and chemicals,” Manning explains.
For instance, the secret to gum removal is a freon spray that freezes the gum, then a tool that scrapes it right off.
Where do Manning and his fellow custodians find gum? Under desks, of course but also on carpets, doorknobs and windows. Custodians have even had to remove it from chair seats, where smarty-pants students put it for unsuspecting classmates to sit on.
A team of four custodians keeps Ed Coles Elementary clean inside and out. They work in shifts: The first person arrives at 6 a.m., two others come in at 10 a.m., and the last picks up a broom at 11 a.m. The first two to leave usually don’t get out of there until 6 p.m. The last custodian locks up for the night at around 7:30 p.m.
In that time, they get plenty done.
They clean 60 classrooms and 1,200 desks.
They empty 300 large and small garbage cans.
And in a week, they replace 180 rolls of toilet paper and 25 rolls of paper towels.
But there’s more to being a custodian than just cleaning up, Manning says. “Sometimes, we have to be a bit of a disciplin-arian. Everybody has to be a role model for these kids.”
And custodians deserve respect from the students, says Manning’s boss, Ed Alvarez. “It’s a hard job, a thankless job. They get very little recognition.”
Here are a few tips on how you can show your appreciation to the custodians in your school, according to Alvarez:
Be a little neater, especially in the lunch room. Don’t throw food on the floor.
In the bathroom, try not to clog up the toilet with paper.
Dispose of gum in the garbage.
