Whether they are on staircases spraying down handrails or in bathrooms sanitizing sinks, Portola High custodians Noe Belmudez, Leo Diego, Adrian Espinoza, Armando Medina, Frank Perez and Adrian Saavedra have been hard at work to reinforce the district’s pandemic plans and checklists for student safety since the beginning of the school year.

“We have implemented what is called a weekly safety plan in terms of a checklist,” Leo Diego said. “We document everything we disinfect. For example, our typical day is to go out, open up the doors and gates that are open so people are not touching the gates. One of the things for the first break, after you guys go out for break, we go out and disinfect all lunch tables, all restrooms, handrails, all the high touch point areas.”

In-person education in the midst of a pandemic poses many physical and logistical challenges to maximize safety for everyone on campus. As such, custodians are busy coordinating shifts around student activity and keeping campus clean when students are at home or in the classroom.

“With the pandemic going on, they’ve become a very crucial aspect of students in our day-to-day lives,” senior Grace Wen said. “We are under a hybrid system, and California is in a purple zone, so more than ever you could call them the silent heroes of these times.”

In addition to the rigorous cleaning checklist, district guidelines have called for a variety of new classroom equipment to minimize both physical and airborne transmissions. Air purifiers, filters in the ventilation system, plexiglass barriers and disinfectant wipes are all regularly maintained, according to Diego.

“I really appreciate the fact that every morning when I walk into class, especially for periods one and two, that I can sit down on a clean chair at a clean desk without having to go through the process of wiping it myself and creating more waste,” Wen said. “Especially during times like these, it’s the small actions that count towards creating greater change or rather preventing greater catastrophes. We’re grateful for the hidden work that they do.”

Avoiding direct student contact, the custodial staff continues to follow district guidelines while enforcing the most effective safety precautions for staff and students behind the scenes.“I know it’s a lot of work on us, but we’re just happy and want to make sure you guys are safe,” Diego said. “I know you guys were away, but we’ve still been reporting to work every day. We’re just glad everybody’s back to see their faces now. But we’re going to implement this for a long time.”