Las Vegas school custodian gets accolades in national contest

Las Vegas school custodian Sonia Fernandez approaches her job thinking about what she’d do if her own children — now ages 26 and 19 — were at her school.

Working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been a little bit scary, she said, but she keeps in mind the outcome of a clean school building and that she wouldn’t want her children to get sick.

Fernandez, who has been head custodian at Ferron Elementary School in southeast Las Vegas since May, tells the custodians at her school: “We have to take care of the school like if our kids were there.”

Her dedication to the job hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Fernandez is among three school custodians in the first round of finalists in a “Custodians Are Key” recognition program put on by Tennant Co., a floor-cleaning machine manufacturer. She was selected from among nearly 1,000 nominees in the United States and Canada.

Fernandez has worked for the Clark County School District for 13 years — eight of those as a custodian. She previously worked in the kitchen at Ferron Elementary about 10 years ago.

Fernandez was surprised and excited about being named a finalist in the national contest, and cried when she received the news.

“I’m a crybaby, so I cry for everything,” she said.

The third annual “Custodians are Key” campaign will eventually recognize 12 finalists this school year and one of them will be named the grand prize winner in May.

As a finalist, Fernandez is in the running for a $15,000 grand prize — $10,000 for the winner’s school and a prize valued at $5,000 for the employee.

The school district is facing major staffing shortages amid the pandemic and has hundreds of job openings for support staff, which include school custodians.

‘We can do everything’

When Fernandez applied for the job at Ferron, she was a custodian at another school and saw the opportunity to become a head custodian.

Most of the head custodians in the school district are men, Fernandez said. But she said the principal at Ferron believed in her and gave her a chance.

Fernandez said she’s proud the custodial team at Ferron is comprised entirely of women. “We can do everything.”

Ferron Elementary Principal Margaret Putnam, who nominated Fernandez for the national award, said Fernandez was among four people she interviewed for the head custodian job.

During the interview, it was clear Fernandez wanted to make a difference in the lives of children and she expressed she’d work hard, Putnam said. “She was just a positive spirit.”

Fernandez started as head custodian a week before Ferron’s replacement school building opened. It was just two days after students finished the school year and everything had to be moved over to the new space.

Fernandez hit the ground running, Putnam said, adding she comes up with solutions to problems and moves forward. “She just takes the job and does it.”

Fernandez’s impact at Ferron goes beyond her job description, too.

Ferron has many newcomers, Putnam said, and Fernandez — who is fluent in English and Spanish — translates for students when needed and helps them understand the “why” behind what they’re being asked to do, Putnam said.

She also sees children at lunchtime and has built a rapport with them. Some want to help her clean up after lunch, so she has extra brooms on hand.

“Kids are very comfortable going up and asking her questions,” Putnam said.

Fernandez said she noticed a girl who comes to school without her hair brushed or styled. “Sometimes, I do her hair.”

She also notices when children are walking around with shoes untied and helps them. And sometimes, she sees children trying to hide food to take home to their siblings, so she tells the principal or a teacher to make sure they get help.

Fernandez said that when she came to the United States as an immigrant, school employees were wonderful when her daughter was in school years ago and helped in many ways.

“It’s the people in the school who make the difference,” she said.

Fernandez said that when she was looking for a job, she had a decision to make: Did she want to make more money working at a casino, or make less money and be happy?

Her decision? “I choose to be happy.”

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.