Behind the scenes

A custodian, bus driver and cafeteria worker walk through their daily schedule and routine.

Hailey Heckman and Inaya Zaman • January 13, 2025

Tien Tran prepares to start his afternoon route after school Nov. 13. (Jordyn Johnson)

Before School:

Before any staff members arrive, bus driver Tien Tran wakes up at 5 a.m. to get ready and goes to the Hilltop Learning Center parking lot to get his bus. He leaves the parking lot at 6:30 a.m. to begin picking up Northwest students and arrives at the school by 7:20 a.m.

Custodian Sid Khongmaly normally has an afternoon shift. However, sometimes he is called at 6 a.m. to go to work. Though he normally begins working after school, if he gets called in the morning he said he gets to the building by 7 a.m. to begin his day of work.

When he works mornings, his responsibilities include setting up tables and chairs and ensuring all restrooms are clean and have enough supplies to last throughout the school day.

Maria Novelo, a food service assistant, said she and other lunchroom workers begin preparing food for the day at 6:30 am. Beginning before students arrive at school, they set out the different items and make sure everything is ready for the day, she said.

On Nov. 21, Maria Novelo laughs with a student while ringing them up for lunch.

During School:

After dropping off students, Tran has a 15 minute break before he begins his route for Oak Hill Elementary school. He then goes to his second job until he goes back to Hilltop at 2:15 p.m. to prepare for his afternoon route.

During school, Novelo said the lunchroom staff continues to prepare until 9:15 a.m, so they are ready to serve food when the first group of special education students comes at 10 a.m. As the rest of the students arrive for lunch, Novelo and the cafeteria staff work the register and restock the food as needed.

As with any job, Novelo said she faces challenges within the lunchroom, as she helps students and works with other lunchroom workers.

Despite these challenges, she said she enjoys her job, and said “I like [the students] to be happy when they come in to have lunch and I have fun with that.”

After the lunch periods are over, Novelo said she cleans up the cafeteria and prepares the chips and other snack items for the next day, before leaving school around 2 p.m.

The custodial staff is responsible for cleaning all the lunch tables and putting away all the chairs. Khongmaly said he is appreciative of students who play their part in cleaning up.

“They help cushion our work,” Khongmaly said. “I want them to take care of themselves, not throw food on the floor.”

Digital illustration of a clapperboard.

After School:

After students are dismissed at the end of the day, Tran waits until 2:55 p.m. and begins his route to drop students off at home. He drives until 3:40 and then returns to the elementary school to begin that route. He said he ends his day around 5 p.m. Tran said he likes his job as a bus driver because it allows him to drive, which he said he enjoys, and because he is able to learn from students.

“I love driving. Either driving [the] school bus or driving the car, but I love driving [especially] for the school,” Tran said. “Each year I meet with a lot of students, and as you know, English is my second language. I can talk to students and when I talk to [them] I learn English from them, too”

While students are being dropped off at home, Khongmaly and the custodial staff will begin cleaning the school in preparation for the next day. He said the after-school custodians typically begin their work day at 3 p.m. and end as late as 11:30 p.m. on days with after-school activities.

During their shift, the custodial staff is in charge of cleaning and checking classrooms and bathrooms, taking out all trash and making sure the school is ready for the next day. Khongmaly said he enjoys working at BVNW because of the hardworking and collaborative nature of his team.

Khongmaly said the custodial staff always is thorough and works together to complete all of their tasks.

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About the Contributors

Hailey Heckman, Designer

Hailey Heckman is a junior at BVNW and is excited to start her second year as a designer on staff. She is looking forward to this school year and all the work that will be done for The Express. Outside of school, she enjoys traveling, spending time outside and hanging out with family and friends.

Inaya Zaman, Online Editor

Inaya is senior and one of the Online Editors for The Express. This is her third year on staff. Inaya is also a staff member on Husky Headlines, the communications coordinator for NEHS, a member of Spanish Honors Society leadership Board, and involved in Kay Club. In her free time, Inaya enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with friends. She is looking forward to another great year on staff.

Jordyn Johnson, Photo Editor

Jordyn Johnson is a senior and photo editor for The Express. This is her third year on staff, while being a photo editor, Johnson is also the anchor host for Blue Valley Northwest’s podcast (BVNWspeaks) as well as an editorial cartoonist. Outside of newspaper, Johnson is the social media manager for the BVNW’s girls wrestling team. In her free time, she takes photos of her everyday life, makes and edits videos of her and her friend group and helps as much as she can with her church. Jordyn is very excited for this new role of photo editor and hopes to improve the standard for photography within The Express.

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