New idea for keeping schools clean

Flipside file illustration

By Katlin Stinespring
Hurricane High School

During the past few months, students at Hurricane High School have frequently heard announcements such as, “Students, we are low on custodians today. Please clean up your areas at lunch and throw away any excess trash.”

Within the last two months, two janitors resigned from Hurricane High, and this loss has affected the cleanliness factor at the school.

However, inconsiderate behavior among students — including spitting in the stairwells, smashing ice cream cones on the floor and leaving lunch trays strewn around the cafeteria - has also helped to turn the school into a pigsty. Food was also recently prohibited in the gymnasium, an area where students socialize and take part in recreational sports during lunch, due to continued trash and spills.

But thanks to a brainstorm from teachers Catherine Grim and Teresa Stephens, the school may soon be back to its old appearance. The two created the Adopt-a-Hallway program to clean up the school.

Adopt-a-Hallway is a program in which clubs sign up to keep a hallway clean by picking up trash and reminding students to do their part in keeping the school clean. The strategy is to encourage students to get involved in making Hurricane a cleaner and more welcoming place to learn.

“We were inspired by this idea because we were constantly tripping over food and trash in the hallways. The Adopt-a-Hallway program has had a positive change because students have taken an ownership of the school,” said Grim.

“Since we did not have a janitorial staff, students wanted to keep the school clean and help out,” said senior Cassidy Preece, the Key Club vice president.

In addition to Key Club, the National Honor Society, Teenage Republicans, Spanish Club, Read Aloud Volunteers and Future Scientists & Engineers of America are also involved with Adopt-a-Hallway.

The Adopt-a-Hallway program would be a positive idea to institute in any school. It can help correct a trash problem or teach students the importance of volunteerism and cooperation.