At Griffith High School, you can see many custodians hard at work trying to keep the environment clean and safe for students and staff. However, there is a lot of tedious work that goes into keeping the school clean.  

Georgia Smith, Maintenance Supervisor Griffith Sr/Jr High School’s building and grounds, plays many important roles in keeping the school orderly. Her role includes assigning tasks to custodians, hiring custodians, and making sure the school is orderly. When hiring, one of the most important qualities she looks for in a potential custodian is preservice and attendance.  

“They need to know that they know what they’re getting into, and if they don’t, I need to know that they can be trained,” Smith said.

As easy as custodian work may seem, there is a lot of demanding work that goes into it as well. 

Some of the worst things to clean in the school are the sinks and toilets, as students tend to put things in or down the toilets. “You kind of just get used to it and come prepared, you wear your gloves and make sure you have all your tools,” Smith said.  

Georgina Hernandez has been a custodian at Griffith for almost 12 years. Throughout her years working here, the conditions of classrooms have been consistent. One of the most challenging tasks for her, however, is having to move furniture. Even with everybody helping, it still can be a challenging task. 

During summer break while all the students are out, custodians clean the whole school from top to bottom in preparation for the following school year. Smith explained that cleaning the school over break is one of the most tedious tasks.  Every surface must be wiped down, including desk legs, chair legs, behind shelves, and more. Even if all those tasks seem easy to do, everything must be cleaned thoroughly to ensure the safety of students. 

“It’s an easy job, but not everybody does a great job,” Hernandez said.