Speech to the Custodian Graduates 18 May 2007

Thank you for this opportunity to address you on this very special day.  I enjoy attending these graduation ceremonies and the cluster awards luncheons whenever I can.  I believe that it is the least that I can do considering how much you all do for our schools and more importantly for our students.

For some of you this is one of your first levels of training.  I hope that you will continue to take advantage of these training opportunities and that we will see you at these ceremonies again and again.

Many of you, in your day to day efforts, may not realize just how important your job is to the school system and to the students.  There is a story about the ancient King of Israel, David.  He and some of his men had to chase down an enemy that had captured their families while they were away.  They had to leave some men behind to watch over their baggage.  Upon their victorious return, some of the men that had been in the fighting objected to the men that had protected the baggage sharing in the spoils.  David stated that all of the men were important to the battle no matter what their role and that all should share in the spoils.  While there is no doubt that the teachers are an important group in our schools, everyone, especially those maintaining our facilities are very important.

You hold in your hands the first impression that anyone gets of our schools.  Before they meet the principal or any of the teachers, you give everyone that comes to our schools the first impression of that school and from that often the first impression of our entire school system.  It starts when they approach the school grounds, driving into the parking lot and walking up to the building they see the condition of the grounds and the outside of the building.  As they walk into the building the condition of the entrance and the halls start to build in their minds what kind of school this is.  This may sound silly, but as I age, I find that one of my first stops is in the restroom.  The condition of that room gives me an idea of how well the rest of the building is being maintained.  Finally parents enter a classroom, but long before that they have begun to form their opinion of the school – all based on how well you have maintained the facility.  Your efforts will have an impact on the initial attitude that parent has as they begin to talk to the teacher or principal.  If they are impressed with how well the building looks, that will help set an environment that will make the building of the important relationship with the teacher so much easier.

In maintaining the day to day condition of the school, you help to establish the learning environment.  If the school is in great condition, then the students have pride in their schools and want to come to school to learn.  Teachers are encouraged by having a work place that they look forward to coming to every day.  If there is excellence in the condition of the facilities it establishes that desire to have excellence in everything in the school.

When I was flying in the Navy, they entrusted a young pilot and me with a $65M aircraft.  They let us take it up and fly some of the most challenging flight operations, but they expected us to bring it back, hopefully in one piece.  We are entrusting you with multi-million dollar facilities.  As some of you know all too well, some of our buildings are over 50 years old.  We depend on you for ensuring that we can continue to teach in a building that old.  We also hope that our new buildings will last that long or longer.  So even if you are in a new building, your efforts are critical to ensure that building will be useable for over 50 years.  The cost of renovations these days far exceeds the original cost of the buildings.  Your all important efforts in maintaining buildings will determine how soon we will have to spend money on renovations that could have been spent in other places.

When my young pilot and I went flying, before we ever climbed into the cockpit, we pre-flighted the aircraft checking various fittings and valves, ensuring gauges read correctly, that the tires looked good and certain bolts were tight and wired so that they could not come off.  We had to pay attention to details to make sure that nothing broke or fell off the aircraft.  It kept us alive.  You provide that same attention to detail in all of your efforts.  The difference between a room in which people are impressed by the condition and one in which people are wondering when the last time it was cleaned is a matter of that attention to detail.  Whether a piece of equipment is safe or could harm a student or staff member is dependent on your attention to detail.  These are the kinds of details that you have mastered that made it possible for you to be here at this ceremony today.  These are the kinds of attention to detail that we expect you to take back to your schools and apply to everything that you do.  These are also the kinds of attention to detail that make our schools safe.

You are the eyes and ears of our schools.  You are everywhere in the school.  You are the people that see the changes in the school.  You know how the equipment and machinery looked yesterday and can recognize if it is different today.  You know where to look out for the potential dangers in the facility.  If there is someone in our schools that does not belong there, you are the ones most likely to see them first.  In this day of so many children with serious health issues like asthma or severe allergies, your efforts ensure that those children can learn in a clean and safe environment.  As you go through your day to day activities, you come into contact with more children that almost anyone else in the school.  You see how the children act in the school.  You watch them day in and day out.  You can tell when something is different, when something is not right with a student or group of students.  You may be the first to notice when a child is bullying others.  Often times you are the ones with whom the students are comfortable talking.  You have the opportunity to be a good role model in these children’s lives.  You never know the influences that you are having on some young child.  My wife still talks about the Poe Middle School custodian who played basketball with her on Sunday afternoons and helped her to improve her game.