Unsung Heroes #397

Thousands of Westport students returned to school yesterday. Hundreds of teachers were there a few days earlier, preparing to greet them.

There’s something about the start of a new school years. Floors glisten. Rooms smell fresh. Even the doorknobs shine.

Cafeterias, gyms, auditoriums — all are ready for the onslaught of kids and adults.

But those floors don’t wax themselves. Desks are not suddenly polished. Broken hinges and blinds can’t magically be fixed.

It takes a crew of custodians and maintenance people to do it.

And the Westport Public Schools have some of the best.

Ready for another year

They’ve been working all summer — since, literally, the day classes ended in June.

It’s hard, physical work. There is much to do. Ten months of constant use takes a toll.

But the men and women on our custodial and maintenance staffs do it. Quietly and efficiently, they make sure that everything is in order, so our teachers can teach and our kids can learn, in all the places we see, and maybe we don’t.

Too often, we look right past them as they clean floors and empty trash. Too seldom do we say thank you.

But without those essential workers, we would have no schools. Today — and every day — they are our Unsung Heroes.

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