Prepping for a fresh new school year
Schools readying buildings for first day Aug. 24
Bob Rodriguez, head custodian, and part of his crew give a Valley Vista Elementary classroom a final wipe down before the start of school Aug. 24. Photo by JAIME ANTON
NORTH ROYALTON – Parents are likely counting down the hours, while kids are savoring these last few days of summer freedom.
Yes, back-to-school time, Aug. 24, is fast approaching, and all summer long as kiddos take a much needed break, the schools have been undergoing some deep cleaning and repairs to prep for the upcoming school year.
Aside from the middle school roofing, tuckpointing and sealing projects, the school buildings go through a series of inspection and cleaning.
The fire alarms, hood systems and extinguishers are inspected and tested by the fire department and ABC Fire, all interior and exterior bleachers are inspected, elevators are tested, all boilers are inspected.
“We did asphalt repairs, cement repairs and replacement at the high school and middle school, spot asphalt patching at the three elementaries. We’re not going to replace major areas of concrete at this point, but we still need to maintain them and make them safe for our staff and students,” Assistant Superintendent Jim Presot said.
He is referring to the elementary schools being replaced in three years with one new, centralized building. For this reason, only small-scale maintenance projects are being done.
Light fixtures are being retrofitted at the middle school, high school and board office, swapping out fluorescent for the more energy efficient LED lighting.
“All those things are being done currently,” Presot said recently.
Particularly impressive, he said, is the systematic approach to cleaning that was implemented last year that’s proven to be highly successful. In the past, three crews of six or seven were dispatched at each school simultaneously.
Now there is just one crew that mobilizes to one elementary building at a time, one classroom at a time together scrubbing down every surface — desks, walls, light fixtures — and prepping the floors for waxing. This crew is able to finish each school in about 12 days.
The crew even takes a picture of each area so it can be put back just the way it was prior to cleaning.
This team-cleaning concept is done by many districts and universities to be more economical and cut down on summer manpower.
“So it still takes the same amount of time, about 35 days, but it takes less people to accomplish it, working more efficiently. They are doing five to seven classrooms a day besides the hallways, media center, etc. They do uni-vent cleaning, paint if needed, wash all desks and all surfaces. They touch every single floor, ever single fixture, everything to prepare for the start of the new school year,” Presot explained. “By far, this has saved dollars in terms of staffing and it’s saved time.”
The middle school and high school each have their own crews but utilize this same concept.
Bob Rodriguez, head custodian at Valley Vista Elementary, said before the concept was instituted in North Royalton, he happened to talk to the head custodian at Xavier University who had nothing but rave reviews.
“He said it was the best thing ever and that they have been doing this for 15 years,” Rodriguez said.
It’s worked out well here too not only getting the buildings sparkling for students and staff, but also building a true team and unity among the three schools’ custodial staff.
“Everyone said they really loved the experience and how we worked together and we got to share information about how we do this or that in our buildings,” he said.
Yes, back-to-school time, Aug. 24, is fast approaching, and all summer long as kiddos take a much needed break, the schools have been undergoing some deep cleaning and repairs to prep for the upcoming school year.
Aside from the middle school roofing, tuckpointing and sealing projects, the school buildings go through a series of inspection and cleaning.
The fire alarms, hood systems and extinguishers are inspected and tested by the fire department and ABC Fire, all interior and exterior bleachers are inspected, elevators are tested, all boilers are inspected.
“We did asphalt repairs, cement repairs and replacement at the high school and middle school, spot asphalt patching at the three elementaries. We’re not going to replace major areas of concrete at this point, but we still need to maintain them and make them safe for our staff and students,” Assistant Superintendent Jim Presot said.
He is referring to the elementary schools being replaced in three years with one new, centralized building. For this reason, only small-scale maintenance projects are being done.
Light fixtures are being retrofitted at the middle school, high school and board office, swapping out fluorescent for the more energy efficient LED lighting.
“All those things are being done currently,” Presot said recently.
Particularly impressive, he said, is the systematic approach to cleaning that was implemented last year that’s proven to be highly successful. In the past, three crews of six or seven were dispatched at each school simultaneously.
Now there is just one crew that mobilizes to one elementary building at a time, one classroom at a time together scrubbing down every surface — desks, walls, light fixtures — and prepping the floors for waxing. This crew is able to finish each school in about 12 days.
The crew even takes a picture of each area so it can be put back just the way it was prior to cleaning.
This team-cleaning concept is done by many districts and universities to be more economical and cut down on summer manpower.
“So it still takes the same amount of time, about 35 days, but it takes less people to accomplish it, working more efficiently. They are doing five to seven classrooms a day besides the hallways, media center, etc. They do uni-vent cleaning, paint if needed, wash all desks and all surfaces. They touch every single floor, ever single fixture, everything to prepare for the start of the new school year,” Presot explained. “By far, this has saved dollars in terms of staffing and it’s saved time.”
The middle school and high school each have their own crews but utilize this same concept.
Bob Rodriguez, head custodian at Valley Vista Elementary, said before the concept was instituted in North Royalton, he happened to talk to the head custodian at Xavier University who had nothing but rave reviews.
“He said it was the best thing ever and that they have been doing this for 15 years,” Rodriguez said.
It’s worked out well here too not only getting the buildings sparkling for students and staff, but also building a true team and unity among the three schools’ custodial staff.
“Everyone said they really loved the experience and how we worked together and we got to share information about how we do this or that in our buildings,” he said.