You may be wondering how Park Center stays so clean with over 1700 people cycling through each day. Everyday when you come to school it’s clean and organized. Have you ever wondered how everything is in order and in working condition each day. No, the school does not magically clean and fix itself. Although that would be pretty fascinating, the real people behind the magic are the custodians here at Park Center.

There are a total of nine custodians that makes up the custodial staff at PC. The day is divided into three shifts: the day shift which is from 7-3:30 P.M., second shift is 2:30-11 P.M., and the third shift starts at 11 P.M. and goes until 7:30 A.M. Each shift consists of three custodians. Their main responsibility is cleaning and maintaining the building. The district level maintenance department deals with the plumbing, doors and locks, and electrical fixtures. Other than that, the custodians are for the most part, able to take care of everything else.

You may have speculated that some classrooms may be a bit chillier than others. However, the only thing the custodians are able to do is to adjust the thermostats, which are located in each individual room. The thermostats in most rooms control the heating and air conditioning. Another reason why it may be a bit colder is because of the weather. Each level of the building has a big unit of hot and cold air which combines to make a controlled temperature. That is known as the mixing box. The equipment takes weather into play and is suppose to react accordingly to it. For instance, when it gets cold outside, more hot water is used to heat the air and also adjusts itself for the humidity and temperature of the air. The system does take awhile to react to changes in temperature. All you can do is brace yourself and bring a sweater along with you during the day because controlling the weather is out of hands reach and the system is not robust enough to react quickly.

When talking with the head custodian at Park Center, Mr. Jack Wagner said that he liked to compare the custodian profession to the lines of customer service. He states that it is very similar because people are always requesting stuff, coinciding with customer service. And it isn’t a bad thing, because he enjoys that every day it always different, and no day is ever the same.

When asked what the best part of being a custodian, Mr. Wagner replied with, “The best part of being a custodian is being able to accomplish something from start to finish, fix things, and also getting to socialize with other staff members and students.” Mr. Wagner enjoys being able to work the day shift because of the ability to interact with others, while other custodians enjoy the quiet of the late shift.

We witness every day the hard work and dedication the custodial staff does to keep Park Center a safe and clean environment every time we step into the building. Be sure to show your gratitude and remember that you can help them out by cleaning up after yourself.

-Maria Pham, PCSH Webteam