Michelle Williams, the evening custodian at Central Elementary, came up with a creative way to encourage students to keep their classrooms clean: the Golden Broom Award! At the end of every month, she determines which class is the cleanest and delivers those students the award (along with a big tub of Redvine licorice).

Ms. Lockwood’s 5^th grade class won the Golden Broom in October. Three students in that class – Shanvi Chand, Simran Kaur and Corinna Misja (pictured here with the award and Williams, throwing up the bunny ears) chose to be class custodians, reminding students to keep their desks organized, throw away garbage and more.

Williams said she believes encouraging students to clean up after themselves through a fun competition teaches them important life skills.

“I don’t teach academics, but I can shape them into being good humans. It’s what people do – when we drop stuff, we pick it up,” Williams said. “I love our kiddos!”