As summer settles across Clay County, the hallways inside local schools grow quiet. While students enjoy a well-earned break, custodial and maintenance crews begin one of the busiest seasons of their year.
Behind classroom doors, schools undergo a transformation that few students or parents ever see. Desks and chairs are moved into hallways, classrooms are emptied, floors are stripped and rewaxed, carpets are deep cleaned, walls are washed and touched up with fresh paint, windows are cleaned and countless repairs are completed before teachers and students return.
The work extends far beyond what many people imagine. Every classroom, office, hallway, restroom, cafeteria, library and gym requires attention. Areas that receive constant use throughout the school year are given the opportunity for a thorough cleaning and maintenance that simply cannot happen while classes are in session.
A visit to Sutton High School during the summer offers a glimpse into that process. Hallways are lined with desks, chairs, bookshelves, filing cabinets and classroom furniture as crews work methodically from room to room. Classrooms that recently buzzed with activity become temporary workspaces where nearly every surface receives attention.
Each room follows much the same process. Furniture is carefully removed or stacked to create space for cleaning. Floors are stripped of old wax, scrubbed and prepared for fresh coats that will protect them throughout another busy school year. Walls are cleaned and repainted where necessary, windows are washed and classrooms are inspected before everything is carefully returned to its place.
Although each classroom may not take long by itself, the process is repeated dozens of times throughout the building. When combined with offices, locker rooms, cafeterias, gyms, and common areas the amount of work completed over the summer is substantial.
At Sandy Creek Public Schools, approximately 10 summer staff members spend weeks completing many of those same tasks.
“We deep clean many areas including all floors, carpets, windows, desks, chairs, tables and classrooms,” Superintendent Michael Derr said. “We also touch up or repaint any areas needed.”
Summer also provides the opportunity to complete larger maintenance and improvement projects that would disrupt daily school activities during the academic year.
This year, Sandy Creek is refinishing its gym floor, replacing scoreboards in its second gym, updating restroom flooring and completing water and drainage pipe improvements.
According to Derr, coordinating those projects is one of the greatest challenges.
“Aligning all of the projects with outside contractors, securing needed supplies and aligning staff schedules” requires careful planning, he said.
Summer staff typically work throughout the break, with many projects continuing until about a week before teachers begin returning to prepare their classrooms for students.
“Our summer staff always does a great job of getting things done and ready for the fall when staff and students return,” Derr said.
By the time teachers arrive, the hallways once again look like classrooms instead of work zones. Desks and chairs have been returned, floors shine, bulletin boards begin filling with decorations and classrooms slowly take shape for another school year.
When students walk through the doors on the first day of school, they see polished floors, clean classrooms, freshly prepared learning spaces and buildings ready to welcome them. What they rarely see are the weeks of planning, lifting, cleaning, repairing, painting and coordination that made it possible.
Much of the work performed during the summer goes unnoticed, and that is often a sign that it has been done well. While students spend their summer making memories, the people behind the scenes spend theirs preparing the place where thousands of new memories will be made in the year ahead.
