Sustainability Spotlight: Standout Elementary Custodians
This month’s Sustainability Spotlight is shining on three exceptional LPS elementary school Assistant Custodial Supervisors!
Our team visits all school cafeterias each year, and these Assistant Custodial Supervisors have really gone above and beyond this school year with helping students and schools achieve their sustainability goals. They and their teams are integral to managing waste programs and supporting sustainability efforts across the district and inside elementary cafeterias.
Leif Tomas at Hill Elementary
Over the last year, Leif Tomas has been transforming cafeteria composting at Ruth Hill Elementary into an opportunity for environmental education. His enthusiasm for composting is contagious. Through daily interactions with students, he’s built a team of young advocates who eagerly help with waste sorting efforts.
What started as simple guidance has evolved into something more engaging. Tomas shares fun facts about compost and its environmental impact, capturing students’ natural curiosity. The results have been impressive.
“A lot of the kids didn't know where things went, but they pick up on things really fast. And so it's actually really efficient and really nice to get to compost, and I think it's done really well.”
His patient, encouraging approach has helped students become genuinely invested in making a difference, one lunch tray at a time.
Lou Damm at McPhee Elementary
At McPhee Elementary, Lou Damm has spent five years perfecting the art of making sustainability accessible. Their strategy? A friendly face, custom signage, and an open door policy for questions. The combination has been very effective in increasing sustainable behaviors. Students of all ages now confidently navigate composting in the lunchroom.
Damm has witnessed a steady increase in student participation over the years. More importantly, they’re teaching a skill that extends far beyond the cafeteria walls.
“I think just being there and being a friendly face will help the students feel more comfortable and be able to ask questions.”
The curiosity Damm encourages has led to a noticeable increase in student engagement. Students notice every new addition to the signage and actively seek guidance on proper waste sorting. “I’ve always told them they can ask me questions. They always want to know more. If I add something to the sign, they’re like, ‘what is that?’ Or, you know, they asked me, ‘where does this go?’ And I’m always wanting to help them.”
It’s this willingness to engage that Damm hopes students will carry with them as they grow.
Jerry Goreham at Brownell Elementary
Since starting at LPS in 2016, Jerry Goreham has brought a lifetime of environmental stewardship to his work. Composting and recycling since childhood, Goreham now channels that experience into inspiring the next generation.
His four years at Brownell have been rooted in empathy and connection. Rather than focusing on rules, Goreham talks with students about keeping the Earth and its creatures (worms, caterpillars, and all) happy and healthy. By framing sustainability as caring for the world around us, he taps into each student’s innate desire to help.
Gentleness and positivity define his method, and students respond by genuinely trying their best. For Goreham, this work is deeply personal and forward-looking.
“We have to leave this world in a better place than what we came into it. We can’t destroy it for our children and our grandchildren. They must be able to do what I did, run around outside, barefoot, carefree, have fun. If we contaminate it with plastics and chemicals, they can’t do that.”
We are so grateful to have custodians like Leif, Lou and Jerry in our district! Every one of them is dedicated to making things a little better for staff and students every day, and we couldn’t imagine LPS without them.
