Assistant Custodial Supervisor Doug Engelhart has been at East for 22 years.  In that time, he has done a lot for East, and its students, staff, and surrounding community on a daily basis.

On an average day, Mr. Engelhart is at work before most people are awake, despite the fact of that he’s not really an early bird.

The hardest part of his job?  “Getting up at 3:30 every morning.”

When he arrives at East at 5:30 each morning, he starts by delivering all of the mail, including orders from the print shop, and everything else that shows up in the mail truck.  Mr. Engelhart has literally, and figuratively, left his handprint on basically all of the worksheets and handouts teachers give to students.  He also makes sure that all of the bathrooms are unlocked and the lights are on for students and staff, all before most students and staff arrive.

One of Mr. Engelhart’s favorite parts of being a custodian is working with the machines, like the air conditioning unit or the boiler. He’s one of the people that keeps those machines that everyone at East relies on everyday up and running, without most people realizing it.

“It’s the stuff nobody ever sees around here but me and a couple other guys,” he explained.  

Mr. Engelhart also notes that many of the custodial staff are never actually seen doing their jobs.  There are 19 custodians, many of whom get here every night, well after everyone has left, and are gone at six in the morning, before most people get to school. 

With that in mind, make sure to say thanks to the custodians you see for doing their jobs so well – they certainly deserve it!