They’re the first to come in the morning and the last to leave: the custodial staff members are the backstage players in maintaining the school. From cleaning to organizing, and everything in between, the staff puts efficiency and student safety as their top priorities. AUSD is known for its students and staff, but the campuses never fail to impress with their sleek architecture and finely catered foliage. With almost 10,000 students and staff, the schools remain immaculate thanks to the hard work of our custodial staff. 

Afterschool, when most go home, the custodial staff work diligently to ensure the schools are ready for another day. With some staff on ladders to change fluorescent lighting, to others mopping up spills and emptying the trash, the staff works harmoniously all throughout the day.  

This care shown to students is represented in their straightening out desks, fixing the legs of chairs, and picking up loose papers. Our custodians make up the backbone of our schools. Without their continuous care and attention, we would not have the state-of-the-art facilities we have today, and we would not have a clean learning environment that propels our success.

Most of the time, as we walk the halls we pay little attention to our custodians humming and working in the backgrounds. After school events, football games, assemblies and more, it’s easy for us to go home, and return to a pristine school again the next day. But, It’s no easy feat doing what our classified staff does, especially with so little recognition. One may expect the vacuumed floors and polished windows as the norm, but without the dedication of the custodial staff, such luxuries would not exist.

In addition to their continuous dedication to their work, many of them have the biggest hearts: letting us in after-hours to retrieve a forgotten water bottle, remembering our faces from the days when we skipped across the playground, and always keeping in high spirits. They are the ones silently watching our growth and maturation throughout the years. The staff in the locker room, for example, are able to manage our athletes and maintain a clean and safe area. Our school is like a big system of working gears. With campus safety at work in keeping the school borders safe, with the teachers keeping the students engaged, the cafeteria keeping the students fed, and the administrators keeping our office functioning, the custodial staff does their part in keeping our campuses together. 

Although our custodians clean in the backgrounds and work across campus unnoticed, some will share a laugh or a smile with you. They’ll inquire about your day as they switch out a trash bag, they’ll wave hello, and they’ll get to know you on a first-name basis. Our custodians are some of the nicest people on campus. More importantly, they are as invested in our futures as any other staff member on campus and they truly are the unsung heroes of our community. All of their hard work improves the quality of our education. Our custodial staff contributes so much to our success and for that, they deserved endless thanks.