11, he School Custodian I. o ItY JAMES FRBDERICK ROGERS, M. D. I Consultant ih Hygiene e Qffice of Education $ sr p. 4 . s. .. 10. .64 iniA 11. ws PT, taw Se 1 s. P! din 1938, -No. 2 / "lb of sdrib a; . tit 11 C. 1 UNITED .STATES4DEPARTM ENT 9F THE INTERIOR i.*dareaL. hiss, Secretary ,. ... (»IncaorEDUciTion... o ........ 4 J. w.Ses44baker,Cosnioasjoser . s. .., UflTT STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTINGOPTICS WILMINGTON: 1938 9 For pale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.-a -PriceiO cents s MO, 4" 0. 1 11 41 ' r Ar... 1 , : . 1--JA-ii / . 61.! _ 4 s 04 4. CONTENTS 7 L s Page , FOREWORD V INTRODUCTION - 1 PREVIOUSSTUDIES .. _ 4 THEPRESENT STUDY_ _ ___________ , 5 Citieswithapopulation of 100,000or more __:_ _ _ _ _ _ 6 _ Citieswithapopulation of 30,000 to 100,000 2-- - _ _ _ - , 12 Citieswithapopulation of 10,000 to 30,000 18 Communitieswithapopulation of 2,500 to 10,000______ 25 TuzCUSTODIAN AND SAFETY w 30 . WOMENASCUSTODIANS . 31 * REVIEWAND REMARKS_ _ .._ ..MI t.Ob M _ M 32 s CHANGES SINCE 1922 ..MI 38 .,SALARIES _. OF CI8TODIAN8 38 1 HZ CUSTODIAN OF THE FUTURE_ _.It- _ _*_ _ - ............._' 39 SELECTED REFIIRENCESa . 41 . APPENDIX n 1 % 42 ; Self-rating questions i _ .. 42 In MO. ; v. s 0.1.0 OP N4. A -# Ilk 4o. rt- Nar o eb a FOREWORI) The position of caretakertfaschool isamany-sided and animportantone,and thematter of his selection, supervision, and training have hardly been giventhe attention the/ deserve.There have been, inrecentyears, somevaluabre, local studies in this field, butno surveyof nationalscope has been attempted since 1922. In thepresent study Dr. Rogers lusts had the assistance of Stella T. Sebern and the advice of W. S. Deffenbaugh,Chief of the Division of American SchoolSystems, whose early investigation of the subject isreferredtoin the introductory páges.It might siem thiat suchAstudy falls in the field of schoól administration but the custodian isanagent concerned with conVort and safety and hislualificationsas ahygienist stand first in importance. The information concerning practices in cityschoolswas collected in 1935 andwe r:41 tthatpressureof 6ther projects has unduly dplatiyid the pub 'cation of this study.. BENI 000DIriLOCINT21, Assistant Commission& of Education. 1 fa aa a . .* a 4 a ! The janitorofamodern schoolbuilding is,next to theprincipal perhaps the)mostimportantoffice,r. DR E 88LA R. A goodjanitor is harderto replace thadagood teacher,and inmost eases, thanagood princiPal. AVERS, WILLIIAlis,and WOOD. A janitorwho is carelessor indifferent in regardto fire hazards in the sma1Iesti4etails,should not betolerated underany circumstafices. GARBER. Diligent andconscientiouscaretakingcontributesmuchto the . health andhabitsoithe childrenin ill types ofschools....Special careshould beexercised in theirselection and Intheorganization of their duties. Report of theCo,nsultativeCommitteeon 0 Infant andNursery Schools, London,England. 41. vat 4 111 THE SCHOOL CUSTODIAN . INTRODUCTION erIN the wall of the main corridor ofapublicstool in sasmall city of Iowaisabionze tablet bearing, in lbw relief, the heroic likeness ofa manand the inscription"He gavethirty-twoyearsof faithful servicetothe youth of this community."From the dedicatoryprogram welearn that the tabletwasplace4 "by its hundredsof donors with the belief that all those who shall frequent these halls inthe yearsto comewill bo inspired,as wewhopiesentitwere . inspired, by him." This superiorpersgnage, somemorialized,was not a member qf the board of education; hewas not asukrin- tendent;nor aprincipal;nor anexceptional teacher;but the schooljanitororcustodip.n. The importance of the janitorAin the scheme of public schooling is, emphagized in'thequotations froni hygienists on apreviouspagebutherdisatestimonialtothe fact that themanwho fires the furnace andsweepsthe floorsmayloom . Inthememoryof those whocameunder his humble minis- trationsasofmoremomentthan the remiining personnel of.4.heinstitution.Inanswer tothe question concerning the employment of janitors,asuperinterident remarked, "We havenodifficulty; We justgo outand pickoneup." The schoolmaypickup a personwhocan sweep a roomand stokeafurnacie, but it doesnotalwvs choose the bestmafi for this work and it seldomsecures onewho isatthe.,same timeaskilledsamlatian,andaninspirationtoyouth..1 Comfort and cleanliness shoulgnot belacking inaschool but they do not weigh heavily against kindlinessuand charac- ter,for spiritual hygiene is qfmoreimportance than physical tygiene. 4 * Because of the frequent lack of realization of the impor- tanceof the school janitor thenamehascometo be *associated withanemployee of minor consequente, ,eitheras atech- nicianor as ahump.n boing.For thisreason someattempt has been made to replace the title with that of custodian. However, thisnamehasnotbeen generally adopted and is used most frequently to distinguish thepersonin general 61880 -48-2 1 s. 4 2, THE SCHOOLCUSTODIAN Chargeof the .janitorialservice ofaschoolsystemorofa large building,and since, ino rstudywemade inquiry concerning the"janitor" and`janitor-engineer,"these termswill be madeuse-of freq endvantinspublication. In tlie large schoolsystemwehat.eawhole hierarchyof caretakers ana assistantswith specifictiOes and.special respon§ibilities, but inthevast majority of schtolsthework and responsibility ofengineer,fireman, cleaner,carpenter, tt mower,supervisor Ohallsand playgrmuhds,and everything Aft else ptriiiiaingto thecareofabuilding andits, inmate73 devolvesupon oneperson.Thdterm"janitór"had for its ancestoraword meaningdoorkeeperor porter,whilecus- todian'referitoapiardianorkeeper.We-- havetherefore' placedonthecove;of this publication the'inoreappropriate title, '"custodian,"forinmost schools the "janitor"or"jam- itor-engineer,"is responsiblefor -the physical,and less directly, f?" the mental,and moral welfareofevery man, -woman,and child..mthe sc&ool. Whateverwe maycall the_pawl' responsible for thecare ofaschool building and ita equipment, O p. .PA fires and piplosion'sand accidents from mispracedfurnitureorfaultyapparatuscan be prevented .by.wise house,ke.eping.Thetemperaturtrand cleanliness of theair have theirinfluenceonthqrequency 'of iispiratoliraffections andthecareof lavatoriesand toilet. )0. haveabearingoncontact-spread inféetions.The*work of the school is helpedorhinderedby clean wallsand Clear- windows.Moreover, thesanitation of theschool carries anobject lesson forhealthful housekeepingin thehome. The modern schoolrequires less laborbut mor,,knowledgi t. and skill thanwasformerly requiredof the custodian. .1 The rapidevolutiog.ofjanitorial-engineeringservice fromcoma paratively pLe, nonskilledwork to that of theskilled and tech- . ;nical types his:conie iounobtrusively thatschoolauthoritiesare asye, butvagueli-iwareof the change. Thejanitor-entineerof /741 to&ymust beaskilled mechanic,capable dt operating michinery and keeping It inprow oonditinforuse.Ho must beable to handle effictent#Surname, ostati, electricmotqrs,gas engines, ventilatingequipment, electricalsystems, centralvacuum- ekes 'MD systems, electric scrubbingbacilli:1es, and thelike. scow, omydictates that expensiveequipment shouldbe. properly (lied Ind shouldreed*. thecare*Mob Its coat andusefulnesswarrants. 0 p. '1 . TIM SCHOOL CUSTODIAN 3 1 . N (1, Boards or education.surrintendents of ocpols,principals, :II Vikcbers,pupils,N.sidthe community atlarge have not cometo's full realisationof thea'mountof work and the teebnicatknowledge- and skill that areirlcolvetin the dire'ofamodern school building.. Asa consequence,sehools often employjanitori whoareuntrained and sometimes evenunfitted try physicalormental Incapacity fdithe eiactingandreshonslkleduties whiclvueb !work invcaves. It is datum'that the firstthoughtdf school officials should tx. 4 to secureadequate buildingfktiliti4in which tpcarry onmodern I schoolprogrpms.Thenext consilerationsurrll oughtto betheir re' properoperation and care.: . Thq,janito.rs orjanitor4ngineers do not alwaysm&sure. uptowhatis expectedof them,orshould be expectedorthem, lit) evident from excerptsfron&urveys of c,ityseliools quoted byEngelbardein tht repòrtof theSubcominittee'opthe SOiool k Plant 6f theWhiteHousè Confeience!: Janitorswho pushsweepings-ofiheschoolroomund)r1.A.N. tors, 4 who neglect dustingand fail to scruband clean 'properly,wha)elep dogs in basdnents,&Ltd who leave thebuildings at 3:30p.tn.; are notsatisfactory to aprincipal interegted in-thewholesometiopsof his school plant. 11, When fresh air inlets areclogged with dirt andfilth, andplen'um chambers areusedasstorage roomsformQpa.biooms, dtibt cloths, and the like, onewonders what excuse canbe advanced forsuch misuse ofthe provisionsthat have been['rudefor thehealth6f ortiool childrep.Dirty window panes,dust laden walls andfurni: t basements storedwith wort-outequipment, and toilets inthe mitfilthy and&wading' conditions, cannotbe excused In any 'hootsystem. 9 Altilough selioolbudainpmaynot conform to desirsblestand- ards of construction,there isno excusefor dirty walls orcorridors, foul smellingand uncleantoilets, closets filledwith discarded mate- Haleaswellassupplies to be utilised,and floors sPottedwith oil. Many janitorsdo notevencomprehend,of what theirventilAting systemconsists,aretinaware,of the Importance. of keeping'air intake ohambersclean. and wholesoine,anti entirely lackstandards . ofcleanlinebs. -Gymnaatunmare dirtyan51 ill lupt,showermoms areunbeliev- ably dirty, momtemperaturesinrariably toohigh, witidow shades torn andmissing.WithanoccAsibnal exception, it maybe said that there isividence