For head custodian Julie Simpson to clean the classrooms at Wanamaker Elementary, it takes a bit of thinking like a kindergartner would. Every night, the school’s custodians go through each of the building’s classrooms, wiping down all of the potential surfaces — places like desks, pencil sharpeners and light switches — that the students might touch during the course of the school day. The custodians also use misting and fogging machines to coat classrooms with disinfecting spray. They only spray up to 6 feet high on the classroom walls, since it’s pretty unlikely that a kindergartner would be able to reach that high, Simpson joked. “It’s a pretty extensive process, but it’s a team effort, and we get it all done to keep the staff and kids safe,” Simpson said. As students return and get used to in-person classes, school custodians like Simpson and her crew of Gina Hunsperger and Rita Torres have always been essential workers for their buildings, but their role in keeping students safe has perhaps become a more prominent role.
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal
