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Swedeborg School District

Claudene Wilson, a longtime custodian at a K-8 school in Swedeborg, Missouri, knew she was appreciated by staff and students, but she was stunned when she showed up to school one day and saw the building was named after her.

“It was a shock,” said Wilson, 64, who started as a custodian at the Swedeborg District III Elementary School in 1994. “I’m not here to be the center of attention. I’m here to help kids out.”

Wilson said supporting students has been the most important part of her job through the years. Every morning as they exit the school bus, Wilson greets each student with a smile.

“I know them all by name. I know their moms and dads by name,” she said, adding that students often go to her when they have a problem or need advice. She is happy to lend an ear.

“I’m here to help them, get them to grow and get them ready for the outside world,” Wilson said.

Students say they are glad they have her to lean on.

“She is always there whenever we need her,” said Blake Mitschele, 13, an 8th grade student at the school. “She does so much. She is always kind to everybody.”

After 30 years, Wilson retired from the small school — which has about 40 students — in July. Staff, students and community members agreed they wanted to commemorate Wilson’s hard work and dedication.

In late August, the school board voted unanimously to name the building after Wilson. They decided to call it the “Claudene Wilson Learning Center” to ensure her legacy and impact would live on for generations.

“She has given so much to the school,” said Mark Sasfy, the assistant administrator of the school.

“She has made it such a priority in her life for the past 30 years,” Sasfy said. “That’s her, that’s who Claudene is, and we’ve been blessed to have her.”

Swedeborg, an unincorporated community in northwestern Pulaski County, has only two businesses: a convenience store and a gas station. Wilson is a fixture around the tiny town.

“I go someplace, and they ask me where I work, and the first thing they say is ‘Is that lady still working at the school?’” Sasfy said. “Who she is and what she represents is something that stays with everyone.”

Over the three decades she spent at the school, Wilson regularly took on tasks beyond her job description, assisting with jobs such as bus driving, lunch duty, plumbing and maintenance. When she thought the students could use a pick-me-up, she went out and bought them ice cream.

“Whatever I could do, I did,” said Wilson, who has one son and is a widow.

After she retired from her job as school custodian in July, she learned the school was in need of a bus driver. She offered to pitch in while the school searches for a full-time driver.

“I wouldn’t leave them hanging,” said Wilson, who still drives students to and from school four days a week. “I will help them out when I can.”

Sasfy said the goal in renaming the building after Wilson was not only to commemorate her decades of work, but also to encourage students to be kind, hardworking and supportive — like Wilson.

“She takes her job very seriously. She does it with pride. Kids can learn something just from that,” he said. “There’s so much more to education than just reading, writing and arithmetic.”

Wilson’s story was first reported by <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/missouri-swedeborg-elementary-school-names-building-after-custodian-claudene-wilson/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>. Wilson — who does not have a cellphone or social media — said she is touched and overwhelmed by the response. Staff at the school have read to her heartwarming comments from people online.

“I’m no hero; I’m just here for the kids,” she said. “It’s a big honor that they look up to me.”

Wilson hopes the school’s new name inspires people to be kind. Her advice to the world is the same as her advice to the students.

“See if you can lift people up,” she said.

McGill University, BA

Columbia University, MS in journalism 

Sydney Page is a staff reporter who writes for The Washington Post’s Inspired Life section, a collection of stories about humanity. She has been a contributor to The Post since 2018.

Sydney Page

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Missouri school names building after longtime custodian Claudene Wilson

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