The Tioga ISD Care Team does more than clean classrooms.
For them, care goes beyond mops and disinfectant; it means looking after one another, the students and the broader Tioga community.
On a recent Monday afternoon, the group gathered in the school library— not to work, but to celebrate.
The Care Team hosted a Hawaiian- themed baby shower for one of their own, Warren Mack, and his wife, teacher Leana Mack.
“Never would’ve expected any other place to do a baby shower for us,” Warren said.
The Tioga ISD Care Team includes Transportation and Custodian Manager Jodi Corbin, Jennifer Sartin, Berenice Orduna, Patricia Saenz, Frida Martinez, Victor Cummings, Warren, Angelica Miranda, Josefina Escalante and Esperanza Castorena.
They prefer the name Care Team to custodial staff, a small but telling distinction that reflects how they see their work, as essential caretakers of the district.
“They call us the Clean Team because we clean,” said Sartin, who has been with the district nearly 12 years. “But it’s more than that. We help each other out, and we help the teachers and the kids. We all pull together.”
That bond is clear in the way they work.
“If someone has to leave for an emergency, we’re all there to help out as quick as we can,” Warren said. “A lot of places say they’re like family. We actually show it.”
Sartin chimed in, saying that they don’t let tasks fall on one person.
“If Warren sets up for an event, [Patricia’s] cleaning the cafeteria,” she said. “Everyone just jumps in.”
That bond extends to the students. “Something unique about this group is they know every kid in our district,” Corbin said.
The team’s daily routines make them familiar faces to every grade level.
“When I’m cleaning the bathrooms and they walk in, they’ll say, ‘Oh, it smells so good in here. Thank you,’” Sartin said. “It feels good to be appreciated.”
Cummings said students even help with cleanup.
“If they make a mess in the cafeteria, they’ll grab a rag and help us wipe it up,” he said. “They don’t just leave it. They try to help.”
The team’s work spans every corner of the district—cafeterias, class- rooms, gyms, locker rooms and event spaces.
Custodians care for schools, students
The group also follows a strict color- coded system to prevent cross-contamination: one color of cleaning rag for bathrooms, another for classrooms, another for food service areas.
“That makes a big difference, especially when you’re dealing with little kids,” Corbin said.
While much of their work happens behind the scenes, their presence is felt in every space.
The Care Team is involved in school events, holiday programs and community gatherings, often volunteering extra time to make sure everything runs smoothly.
“I used to throw in 10 or 12 extra hours a week, off the clock, just to make sure things were ready before events,” Sartin said. “It’s about the kids. It always has been.”
For several members, the school is also family in a literal sense.
Many have children or grandchildren enrolled in the district.
“It’s nice to see my daughter at school,” Orduna said. “If I’m going to work, I can also see my own children grow up here.”
That closeness is part of what makes Tioga special.
Corbin said that most of the students who attend Tioga ISD live outside the district, and the same goes for much of the staff.
They choose to come here, drawn by the sense of community that defines the district.
That commitment shows in small, but integral, ways: Saenz drives fellow Care Team member Martinez to work each day.
To be part of the Care Team is to embody integrity and discipline, the team members said, but that’s what makes it all worth it for them—to be relied upon and know that their work matters.
When asked what keeps them motivated, the team’s answers came easily.
“For me, it’s the kids,” Sartin said. “If you give everything you’ve got, they see that. You set the example.”
Warren agreed. “Hard work gets you whatever you need,” he said. “If you give a 100%, [the students] will see it, and hopefully, they’ll do the same.”
