If you're a B&M teacher, how clean is your school?

[katilac]

I posted in another thread about spending 9 weeks teaching in two different local schools recently, and being surprised at how dirty and cluttered they were. Clutter: old books in messy stacks or piles, outdated student folders on the scarce shelves, empty binders and such tossed in a corner. Dirt: general layer of grime, desks never wiped down, sticky floors, and the definite worst of dirty and dusty vents which then blow into the classroom. I don't mean slightly dusty, but what looks like years of buildup. Eww. 

One of the rooms was really crowded, which certainly doesn't help. Both public schools, both 'poor' schools in terms of both funding and student/family income. So I get it, there aren't many resources and I'm sure it's a never-ending battle, but it absolutely does not seem healthy. Or OSHA compliant, lol. 

How clean is your school? Public, private? Well funded? 

[lmrich]

Way back in the day... I taught in an inner city school. I brought my own cleaning supplies. Emptied all the cupboards and wiped everything down. I mopped weekly. I spent my own money on cleaning supplies. My husband joked that my classroom was cleaner than our apartment. I think it would surprise many to learn that teachers are spending so much time doing this. I know in other countries, kids take turns cleaning which I think is a fantastic idea. 

I am in a private/hybrid situation now. The church we rent from has the best cleaning crew I have ever seen. Even that being said, I still clean the tables with my own supplies, wipe down the handles, light switches, and pencils. I was doing this before COVID-19 - I tend to get sick easily and too many parents sent their kids to school sick. 

[barnwife]

Former public and private school teacher here. The janitorial staff swept the classrooms in both places. They also cleaned up when students puked in the rooms. I did pretty much any other cleaning that ever happened in my room, using supplies from my own stash. I was...much younger then so it didn't happen nearly as often as it should have. At this stage of my life, (pre-pandemic), I'd have been wiping down desks/doorknobs/pencil sharpeners, etc...at least once a day. This current situation would have me doing it at the end of the day, while hopefully having students do it once mid-day. 

[klmama]

Former private school teacher here.  There was minimal clutter; the rooms were large and had ample storage space.  On a daily basis the custodial staff (usually just one or two people) swept all floors, cleaned the drinking fountains and bathrooms, emptied the trash/recycling, and vacuumed any classroom rugs.  They mopped the hallway floors and the lunch room daily, but I'm not sure how often they mopped the classrooms.  They disinfected the desks at least once weekly, and more often than that during flu season.  They also cleaned up vomit, mowed the grass, shoveled snow, and repaired anything that was broken.  Students were assigned daily classroom clean-up chores like emptying the pencil sharpener, washing the boards, straightening the bookshelves, wiping down counters, setting trash and recycling cans in the hallway, cleaning pencil marks off their desk tops, etc.  At the end of the year, all students were involved in deep-cleaning their classrooms and lockers.  As for funding, one school was well-funded and the other was not.  FWIW, the less-funded school was consistently cleaner, probably because it emphasized that taking care of the school was the responsibility of everyone as part of the community.  Teachers would stop students from walking past paper on the floor and have them pick it up, regardless of whose it was.   

I also taught enrichment summer school classes that met in a public school.  The custodians were very pleasant, but they seemed disorganized and inefficient.  The trash was emptied, but hallways and bathrooms didn't appear clean, even after they'd been "cleaned."  The level of clutter and filth varied from classroom to classroom, which was obviously a difference in teachers using the rooms during the school year.  I was told by friends who taught in the public schools that teachers weren't allowed to give students classroom cleaning tasks.  The public schools here are well-funded.  

 

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by klmama

[Hilltopmom]

Public school teacher here- rural school upstate NY. Janitor empties our trash daily and vacuums once a week. 
Teachers clean desks and other surfaces ourselves with supplies we purchase out of pocket. We are not supposed to use any outside cleaning supplies because they could be toxic to kids. But if we don’t buy and use our own then desks, doorknobs etc would never be cleaned. There are district rules about green approved cleaners that janitors can use. Teachers just ignore that and clean anyways. We are NOT allowed to let kids touch cleaning products.

During flu season this year they did have janitors clean desks in each room once with a bucket of soapy water.

Ive never seen the janitor clean the drinking fountain outside my classroom door.

No clutter or crap sitting around but that’s up to each teacher in their own room to take care of. Filters in heaters replaced once a year.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Hilltopmom

[math teacher]

My current school is very clean. Vacuumed daily, desks/tables wiped down daily, water fountains cleaned. Custodial staff is working even during the shutdown.

[Ottakee]

Public special education.  I am with you g adults 18-26.  Our building is very clean.  As part of their life skills program the students rotate various cleaning jobs.

At the center based program we have an excellent custodial staff so things are very very clean there too.