After spending weeks preparing Martin Elementary for the new school year, custodian Jose Guzman is ready for students and staff to arrive, along with some unexpected situations.
By Robyn Meadows
Published Aug 31, 2006 13:50
Usually the radio keeps the 33-year-old company until the children arrive, but not today, the first day of school.
Guzman, who has the 6 to 2 custodian shift, walks the halls of Martin, the Lancaster school that sits at the intersection of Wabank and Millersville roads. He flips on lights and unlocks doors. He rolls out four tables in the cafeteria for the breakfast crowd. He empties the trash baskets in the classrooms.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Guzman says of the early morning hours.
The School District of Lancaster and Columbia School District both opened today.
“That’s another surprise,” he says with a smile, pointing at stacks of empty boxes sitting outside of classrooms.
And another surprise — a light went out in the guidance office.
He grabs a ladder and tool belt and switches the fixtures in a jiffy.
Guzman’s official title is building engineer. His duties range from maintenance to custodial work.
A new first-grade teacher, Jenna Louderback, walks in and asks if he can move a ladder that her husband left in her class the day before when he helped her prepare for the first day.
“I’m sorry,” she tells him.
“That’s all right,” says Guzman, a laid-back guy who smiles often. “I’ll get it.”
Louderback says, “He is absolutely spectacular.”
That seems to be the sentiment of everyone who passes Guzman this morning. His co-workers say he keeps the school running smoothly.
Guzman does worry, though, on the first day because he wants it go off without a hitch.
It’s not in his nature to grow anxious. He considers himself a positive person. He’s just meticulous.
So this morning, long before the children’s chatter fills the air, Guzman is there double-checking everything. The first buses arrive at 8:35.
He checks the parking lots and the bus loop, and he’s on hand to unload the delivery of lunches in the kitchen.
The school is spotless.
Guzman and another custodian work during the summer to clean the rooms —erasing what’s left from the year before.
It takes weeks to get a school ready for the first day. The work begins as soon as the teachers leave for the summer.
“We take care of the entire classroom, like the walls, cleaning light fixtures, and the last thing we do is the floor,” he says.
The first day, well, it’s a piece of cake. Once the children come in, the place gets messier. After breakfast, he scrubs the cafeteria floor for lunch.
Tomorrow, he’ll sweep and clean the bathrooms.
He’s worked for the school district for four years, three of them at Martin.
Born in Puerto Rico, Guzman moved to New York City at 17 with his aunts. He came to Lancaster City in 2002 with his wife, Ana, and their two children, Amanda, 12, a seventh-grader at Wheatland Middle, and Roxanna, 10, a fifth-grader at Price Elementary.
Guzman, who is well-liked by everyone at Martin, says they treat him well.
The little kids, well, they like him, too.
A couple of older students approach and call out, “Mr. Guzman, what did you do this summer?”
“They have big smiles on their faces when they come up to me,” he says.
And, that feels pretty good.
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