By Caitlin Acker

Staff Writer

    It is important that students at R.J. Reynolds High School prioritize spring cleaning not just in their own space, but in our shared spaces at school as well. Entering the fourth quarter with a clean mind and environment drastically improves one’s mood. Heather Barto Wiley, one of Reynolds’ English teachers, believes that spring cleaning is especially important for students on campus. 

    “I know that our mental health is reflected in our spaces,” Wiley said. ”When we need to think, our spaces need to be clean and organized so that we have thinking space.”

    Upholding a clean campus is not just an expectation for students, but for teachers as well. By teachers keeping a clean campus, it allows students to excel in the classroom, especially towards the end of a long school year. 

    “When students walk into a classroom, and it is clean, [organized, and] they know where to find everything, I see a different attitude from them,” Wiley said. “I might see students being really frustrated or overstimulated in the hallway, and when they walk into a clean and organized classroom with clear expectations they de-escalate.” 

    When teachers set a precedent of a clean classroom for students, it fosters a participatory environment to keep our campus clean. 

    “It makes a difference when a teacher has clear methods for their students to be incorporated into their classroom,” Wiley said. “I want students to walk into a room and say, ‘I belong here, this is the space for me.’” 

    No matter how clean teachers keep their classrooms, there are always certain areas of Reynolds that remain unkept. For instance, many notice disrespectful student behavior towards the bathrooms on our campus.

    “I feel like the inside of the campus could be cleaner, especially the bathrooms,” Hines said.  “It is really important to keep the school clean to prevent students from getting sick.”     

    The cleaning staff finds it difficult to pick up after the students are gone. During lunch, many students leave their trash on the ground, leave the bathrooms messy, and forget things in their classrooms. The staffing vacancies on the custodial team, combined with the unkept campus, are a recipe for disaster. Throughout the year, the campus gets increasingly hard to clean. Head custodian Qwamaine Alford believes it takes effort to keep the campus clean.

    “Most kids like to come to school and see cleanliness,” Alford says. “In order to have a clean building, we have to put forth the effort so the kids can come to a comfortable place to be.”

    The best way to keep our campus as beautiful as ever is for the students to participate in healthy cleaning habits. Students should encourage each other to clean up and care for our campus. 

    “As far as students littering and throwing things on the ground, we could use some assistance from the kids,” Alford said. “I feel like we could gain a lot of help from them, because they are usually the ones to make the mess.”

    To keep the Reynolds campus clean, students must take responsibility for their trash and try to clean up as much as possible. With a conjoined effort from the students, this campus could become a clean space for everyone. The spring season is the perfect time to establish a standard of cleanliness for the students at Reynolds.