Clean Schools

When it comes to stopping the spread of covid-19, everyone is cleaning.

Vo in monitor during a typical school year, teachers teach, coaches coach, and custodians... clean.

But when it comes to stopping the spread of covid-19, everyone is cleaning.

Our cash matlock talks with the starkville oktibbeha school district..

He joins us in the studio with more on how educators are preparing for the start of school.

Joey, classes start monday for starkville students and the staff at sudduth elementary has spent the last few days preparing for students to arrive.

They say they're eager to get the ball rolling, but they want to provide a safe environment for everyone.

For faculty and staff at sudduth elementary, work will begin more than an hour before students arrive.

Each employee is tasked with cleaning a certain area.

"everyone's responsibility this year is to keep the school clean."

"each day our custodians will go through and sanitize the common areas, and then before the students arrive into the classrooms, the teachers will sanitize the classrooms in the morning before the students arrive."

But the cleaning doesn't stop after the bell rings.

"this is going to be like all day, every day, three times a day."

Benjamin randle has been the head custodian at sudduth for 6 years.

He says the most challenging part will be cleaning behind people as they enter the building throughout the day.

"handbars, doorknobs, keeping the bathrooms sanitized four times a day."

Each grade is assigned a certain entrance.

And each entrance has a sanitization station.

------ "when students with the starkville oktibbeha school district get to class, they'll actually pass by this thermal face scanner, which can read their temperature and detect if they're wearing their mask correctly."

------ "these are touchless hand sanitizing stations... that can be used each time they enter the building and in the classrooms while they are sanitzing their hands."

----- sudduth has 6 custodians on staff, but the responsibility of disinfecting the campus doesn't rest on their shoulders alone.

"each classroom is getting, or has, a bucket of wipes that are much like clorox wipes or lysol wipes, but they are filled with a hospital grade sanitizer and disinfectant that they'll be using throughout the day."

"we will wipe down all the desks and any supplies like manipulatives that the kids would use and we do that throughout the day and then of course at the end of the day, a sweep of all the class rooms sanitizing and spray as well."

This school year may be different than before, but faculty and staff members are staying positive.

"sudduth elementary is a safe place to come, and we want our students and our families, and our community to know that."

Vo in monitor educators tell me the hand sanitizer they use is a special non- alcoholic formula that's safe for children who may frequently put their hands in their mouth.

They say they're also swapping out their water fountains with water bottle fillers.