Towards 2024 crystal apple award At the May 22nd Awards for Outstanding Educators, the Salem Reporter profiles some of the 97 nominees. The award will be presented at the Salem Convention Center by the McLaran Leadership Foundation and the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce. Tickets are sold out.
On Wednesday morning, Marie Davis-Anderson was cleaning tables after breakfast in the cafeteria at McNary High School when she received a call over the radio.
Students at the Celtics store were trying to turn on small appliances to heat food to sell to their classmates when the circuit breaker tripped.
“Miss Marie, can you help me?'' the voice asked.
“I'll be right there,” she replied, already starting to walk quickly toward the dining room door.
It's a signature phrase for the longtime custodian, who has worked at local schools, primarily McNally, since 2012.
McNally's colleagues at Davis Anderson nominated her for the Crystal Apple Award, recognizing her for keeping the school a “clean canvas” for learning and always working with a smile. Principal Scott Gragg called her “the most trusted employee” at her school.
“Marie took care of the vomit on my desk right away. She came right over and cleaned up the mess in between killing time so I could start my next class without delay. ” teacher Tracy Rhodes wrote in her letter of recommendation. “During the rat infestation, she was quick to dispose of the rats from my traps that would come once or twice a day.”
“Marie often puts the needs of students and staff above her day-to-day responsibilities. She helps clean up clutter, helps students with locker problems, and attends classes for staff. Always available to drop things off or welcome visitors to the school, Marie has a quiet strength full of confidence and compassion,” Gragg wrote.
After 12 years as a stay-at-home mom raising her three children, Davis-Anderson applied for a job as a janitor because of the “special experience” in cleaning, she said. Her two older children currently work in the special education field for the school district.
Her parents owned a cleaning company, so she thought the job would be a good fit for her. She is McNally's only daytime custodian and the only person responsible for cleaning the building, which houses 2,200 students, from 6:30 a.m. to lunch.
The job involves more than just unclogging toilets, but Davis-Anderson believes the school's restrooms are the best example of high school students' creativity. She matter-of-factly listed items she had seen students trying to flush down the toilet, including staplers and potatoes.
“Their brains are still developing,” she says by way of explanation.
Davis Anderson takes pride in learning how to solve problems around McNally and passing on that knowledge to her students.
On Wednesday, she patiently unlocked the door so a Celtics student could walk to the theater's control booth and reset the store's circuit breaker. She suggested plugging the toaster into another outlet just outside the store. That's because appliances that heat things quickly use more power than appliances that hold hot or cold temperatures.
“I learned that from an electrician,” she said. She tries to help by taking what she can from the contractors called to repair it.
Sometimes students who have been suspended from school are assigned to work with her, helping clean up the consequences of throwing food. She loves being able to help students learn responsibility, and she hopes she is successful when the students are not back on lunch cleaning duty.
“When they come in after doing something wrong, I teach them there is another way,” she said.
Davis Anderson tracks her steps with a pink smartwatch. By 10 a.m. Wednesday, she had logged more than 6,400 steps, or more than 3 miles. Usually she walks around campus two to three times as much as she does.
“It keeps me busy,” she said.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is editor-in-chief of the Salem Reporter. She joined Salem in 2018 when She Reporter was founded, covering news, education, nonprofits and everything else in the city. She has been a journalist for her 10 years in Oregon and Washington. Outside of her job, she is a skater and official for Salem's Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be seen with her nose buried in her books.