On the way to North High School on Wednesday morning, the steady rain set a dreary mood. But once inside, where the school’s custodial crew was hard at work on additional cleaning, the rain was recast as an outdoor rinsing agent complementing the deep disinfecting underway indoors.
“We always take advantage of breaks in the calendar to do deep cleaning that can’t be done daily when schools are open,” said DMPS Director of Custodial Services Bryan McEvoy. “The big difference in these unusual circumstances is an increased emphasis on disinfecting. We anticipated that and bulked up on those types of supplies.”
We didn’t have to look far for an example of that increased emphasis. In the band room, even the percussion mallets were getting individual wipe-downs.
As all buildings at Des Moines Public Schools are closed until at least April 13, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the empty hallways and classrooms give custodial crews the opportunity to do a deep clean district-wide.
“We want all of our schools to be completely safe and ready to go for students whenever they are allowed to return to them,” McEvoy added.
Ron Carpenter is the Chief Engineer at North, one of the officers in the small army of 232 custodial soldiers who keep 71 district schools and related facilities up and running.
“Everything anyone comes in physical contact with will be disinfected,” Carpenter said. “Every locker, for instance, and when we do the doors, we don’t clean just the knob or handle, we get all around them because you know, students don’t always use the knobs and handles when they go through doors,” he noted, smiling and demonstrating the way teens in a hurry to class have of barging.
Carpenter’s troops shun the sort of attention being paid to them Wednesday morning. Custodians take ownership of their schools and pride in them. But many also enjoy the often solitary workplace. They’d rather whistle, like one member of the Polar Bear crew was when we were there, than stop to talk while they work.
Besides all of the surfaces getting the once, twice, three times over at North this week are others left just as they were when classes dismissed last Friday until at least mid-April. The walls are still plastered with posters about the myriad of activities that define a vibrant urban high school. Into the Woods was supposed to be the spring musical. Right now, it sounds more like where the whole world is headed. Another read You Belong Here. A week ago, that reflected the inclusive nature of the school. Now it’s as if the building is pleading for the return of students and teachers.
It’s not just the custodial staff that’s contributing to the deep-cleaning effort. The district’s technology department also plays a big role. IT staff is visiting every DMPS building to clean keyboards, laptops, phones and other technology devices.
There will be songs to sing when we’re out of the woods. In the meantime, let’s all try to whistle while we work toward that day.
For more information on Coronavirus and the shutdown at Des Moines Public Schools, visit dmschools.org/coronavirus.
