Mr. Rob Cataldo is the first one in the building, entering CRLS at 5AM—the start of his morning shift. Darkness permeates the halls. CRLS is a ghost town, no students, no teachers—the frenetic environment that is a typical school day has not yet come to life. The six other morning-shift custodians march into the building through the side entrance, drop their bags off in their lockers, and congregate in the head custodian office on the first floor to debrief their plan for the day’s operation.

Cataldo, class of ’96, has been a custodian for nearly 23 years at CRLS, a night shift supervisor for nine years, and head custodian for six. Cataldo told the Register Forum, “As the head custodian, I oversee everything—I have one of the biggest crews in the city … It takes a lot of us. 18 of us in total; six in the morning and twelve at night. We got a lot of space to cover.”
Each day, the custodians manage and maintain every building and their surrounding area, covering over 400,000 square feet— the third-largest building in the city of Cambridge. “We’re the backbone of the school,” 16-year custodian and CRLS alumni Claude Lathan added.

According to 14-year custodian Anthony Castle, custodians clean all five floors, stairwells, bathrooms, surfaces, and even every keyboard––“you know, the fun stuff,” Castle remarked. With the pandemic, the custodians’ work is even more instrumental in ensuring that the environment is both clean and safe by the time students enter the building. The job also expands far beyond just cleaning: the custodial crew works with CRLS food services to feed any kid in Cambridge after school—not just those at Rindge. The custodians are essential for keeping the students safe; Lathan explained that “We also got to keep our eyes on the kids too. We work with the security team”. Despite the innumerable physical tasks that come along with the job, almost every custodian agrees that the best part of their work is the daily interactions with the students and teachers.

Lathan elaborated on the importance of student interaction, saying, “The job is more about [just] being a custodian––it’s honestly social working too. That’s what I’m here for. We have to set the tone for the kids and the next generation.” Three-year night shift custodian, Andrew Ivanoskos, echoed La- than’s sentiments, telling the Register Forum, “I think that saying hi to the students and the teachers every day goes a long way.”

Senior David Ramos spoke about his appreciation for the custodians, telling the Register Forum, “Custodians are literally the coolest people at this school, always supportive, always friendly—all in all my favorite school workers.”

Although not every student converses with the custodians, Lathan feels that the work he puts in on a daily basis is acknowledged: “The people here show us appreciation: they give us gifts, they’re concerned about my family … they miss us when we are away. I feel very appreciated.”

Despite the ups and downs, positivity always wins at the end of the day for the CRLS custodial team. William Eagen, a thirteen-year custodian, expressed gratitude for the job, saying “This is the best job I’ve had in my life, and I’ve had plenty of jobs since I was fourteen. Now, I’m forty-seven, and I’ll never leave this job. I love the kids, the kids are always awesome,”. In a job that is not always so glamorous, the CRLS custodian crew invariably finds ways to stay positive, keeping the school as safe and clean as possible while spreading joy that infectiously resonates throughout the CRLS campus.

This piece also appears in our February 2022 print edition.