Raul, The Janitor

Just recently we were contacted by Ms. Lieber, a second grade school teacher at Cowan Avenue School.  Ms. Lieber brought Every Monday Matters into the classroom and shared the book with her students.  She decided to put a little twist on one of the days in book and have a “Thank A Janitor” Day.  Very cool.

So Ms. Lieber and her students invited Raul, the school’s head janitor into class for a day of “getting to know you.”  The students spent over an hour asking Raul questions.  “Where are you from?”  “How did you get such a great job?”  “How can we make your job easier?”  According to Ms. Lieber, “it was something really magical.  Everyone was really moved by the experience.”  But it doesn’t stop there.

In the weeks following their day in the classroom, Ms. Lieber has seen changes in both Raul and her students.  According to her, Raul comes to work with a bigger smile on his face now and seems to enjoy his job more.  And, probably more amazing, she now sees her students helping him during their recess and telling other kids to make sure they don’t litter because they don’t want to make Raul’s job any more difficult.

Lastly, the students then wrote thank you notes to Raul and we are lucky enough to be able to share a few of them with you. 

Thank you Ms. Lieber for being such an inspiration to your students, your co-workers, and Raul.  You are making a big difference.  You Matter.