You walk to your locker, put your backpack away, grab the books you need and report to your homeroom. However, when you step into the room, you notice how unclean it is. In fact, the entire school is dirty! This is the world you would live in if janitors didn’t exist.

Many students don’t realize how important janitors are, especially during a pandemic. We go to school every day and expect our environment to be clean. At Punxsutawney Area High School, janitors work Monday through Friday from three to eleven, according to Marsha, a custodian at the high school.

After school was canceled due to the spread of COVID-19 last semester, janitors were sanitizing our environment more than they ever have.

“Well, when school closed down and there was no students in the school,” Marsha said, “we shifted to day shift and started disinfecting and thoroughly cleaning the school.” According to Marsha, the disinfection process “started in March,” which was three months before they usually began.

Because most janitors aren’t visible during the school day, some students may not recognize the efforts they go through. Despite the lack of appreciation, they continue to work hard to keep the school safe. “I like coming in,” Marsha said, “seeing the kids the little bit that we do see them, and just go about my routine.”

“Nobody’s really said anything to me about it [my job],” a janitor, who prefers to remain unnamed, said, “but I’m hoping they appreciate what we’re doing for them [the students] to try to keep them healthy.”

With that being said, the next time you see a janitor in the hallway, a simple “Thank you,” would make their day.