At NC, students fill the halls with laughter and footsteps, and teachers inspire youth in the classroom. However, a group of individuals work behind the scenes to ensure the school runs smoothly. NC’s janitorial staff, a mighty team, remain the unsung heroes of the school, maintaining a clean and safe environment day in and day out.
Before the first bell rings, the janitorial staff cleans the bathrooms, mops the floors and wipes down tables in the cafeteria, quietly and efficiently helping maintain the school’s cleanliness in the background. The crew’s work falls behind the scenes, rarely receiving recognition for their efforts. While students see clean floors and empty trash bins, they do not realize the effort that the custodians put into keeping the school looking its best.
“The janitors always make sure the school is clean and kept in order. Without the janitors, some kids would throw their trash anywhere and our school would look like a dump. With the janitors, our school is a safe and clean environment that I’m proud to be a part of. More needs to be done to recognize them,” magnet junior Kassidy Brown said.
Students underestimate the effort it takes to hold the title of janitor. The work demands physical labor such as scrubbing floors and toilets only for them to end up dirty again ten minutes later. In addition, they must respond quickly to urgent maintenance matters while juggling routine tasks. For a timely and physically demanding job, the pay does not fully reflect the effort the janitors put in. The average salary for a janitor starts above minimum wage at only $27k a year. With a low salary, finding people to fill these positions poses a challenge for school districts. Job hunters prefer to find higher-paying jobs with less manual labor, including restaurants or fast food chains. By choosing this pathway, the NC custodians show their dedication to the students and teachers and their passion for helping others.
Additionally, with budget constraints, the custodial team possesses unsustainable amounts of resources, stretching them thin. Despite this, they manage to keep the school running smoothly, placing the needs of the students first. Without the janitorial team, the school would look unfit for students. To help the custodians, NC could implement student campus clean-up days; for example, NC’s Beta Club participates in campus clean-ups where students stay after school to pick up trash in the halls and courtyard. Students would mop floors, wipe tables and provide basic maintenance as a way to show appreciation.
Valentina Georgieva, a custodian at NC, immigrated from Bulgaria. Back home, she obtained a master’s degree in Veterinary Sciences. Now, she works at NC to help clean the school. She started in the cafeteria where she worked for seven years and then moved to the custodial position where she has worked for three years. In her free time, she enjoys painting without limits, capturing everything from people to flowers. She cares for the NC community just like how she cares for her family.
“I do not have a lot of time for my hobbies, but I love my job. I’ve got only my brother after my parents died. We are very close and talk often. I show him my art and we exchange stories throughout the day,” Georgieva said.
Students, staff and faculty at NC appreciate the dependable custodians. Their contributions remain vital to the daily functioning of the school, and strong efforts highlight their importance. Through organized appreciation initiatives, personal thank-yous from administrators or small gestures of gratitude from the community, schools can encourage the staff to work harder. NC participates in a custodian appreciation week where the students and faculty create cards for the janitors. Recognizing their contributions fosters an inclusive environment where all staff feel valued. NC remains a clean and safe environment due to diligent custodians like Georgieva on the NC janitorial staff.
