On any given day, Boston Latin School students who stay late are likely to see custodian Mr. Robert Jelley around the school, who ensures that students have a clean environment to learn in.
Mr. Jelley is currently the Head of Custodians at BLS. On a day-to-day basis, his responsibilities begin as early as 6:00 A.M., which include ensuring the building is heated properly, checking the boilers and maintaining classrooms. He supervises a team of ten custodians, with three working during the day and seven at night. One of the challenges he has noticed is maintaining the older part of the building, which is harder to preserve in good condition.
Mr. Jelley is a seasoned tradesman who graduated from Boston Public Schools in 1982, and he started his first job just two weeks after graduation as a union carpenter in Local Union 40. A union job is one where employees are members of a labor union, which collectively bargains with the employer on behalf of its members for better wages. These jobs typically involve trades such as carpenters, construction workers or teachers. Mr. Jelley has worked in union jobs for over 40 years.
Mr. Jelley’s father was a custodian too, which inspired Mr. Jelley to take the civil service exam in 1986, a merit-based exam required to become a public sector employee. Mr. Jelley worked as a custodian for 22 years before transitioning back to the trades in 2009, working for painters, tapers and glazers for 13 years. He was an officer in the union for many years and eventually became an organizer, representing multiple states, including Massachusetts. After retiring from the painters’ union, Mr. Jelley returned to his role as custodian at BLS.
The custodians work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that students are able to learn in a clean environment every day. Jianbin Zhao (I) comments, “The custodians put in a lot of effort to maintain our school. […] I believe that they aren’t recognized enough for their hard work. […] I hope more students start to respect those who are cleaning up their messes and taking care of our school.”
While a lot of the work that the custodians do takes place outside of the school day, Mr. Jelley and the other custodians have still been able to connect with students.
Assistant Head of School Martha Pierce remarks, “Part of the reason [the school is so clean] is the good relationship that the custodians have with most of the students.”
Outside of school, one of Mr. Jelley’s favorite hobbies is sports announcing. He announces sports for the city of Melrose, covering a wide range of events, including boys’ and girls’ basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse and wrestling. He has been involved in sports announcing for about five or six years now, and he particularly enjoys announcing unified basketball, something he is looking forward to do at the TD Garden in mid-January next year.
Mr. Jelley plans to retire in three years, which is when his son will graduate from high school and his daughter will graduate from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. His wife is a kindergarten teacher at David A. Ellis Elementary School and also plans to retire with him. As a part of his retirement plans, he hopes to visit Italy and Greece for a few weeks. Mr. Jelley believes that his greatest life lesson is found in his personal character. He concludes, “I found that the biggest opportunity in life is how you present yourself. If you care, if you listen [and] if you’re sincere, people will see that. People will see things in you that will bring you to them. For me, that’s how it always worked.”
