Mr. Jimmy Contreras

As we walked into a big room that felt like a warehouse, Mr. Contreras greeted us with a smile. He was sitting at one of four computers reading an email about a new task to complete. He was also looking at a giant calendar above him to see when he could complete that task. There were so many different tools and supplies to fix things in the room. In case anything in the school breaks, the maintenance department always has five more on hand to replace it. That's how prepared they are. Everywhere we went while we toured with him, Mr. Contreras' first priority was always safety. He always warned us what dangers would be in the room and not to touch anything so we wouldn’t get hurt. He does so much for this school and we all definitely look up to him. We would never be able to do what he normally does in a day in a full month. That’s how much Mr. Contreras does for our school.

Mr. Contreras grew up in Chicago's Rainbow Beach neighborhood and has lived in Chicago his whole life. He found out about a possible job opportunity at Parker through a friend at his old job who asked him to help. Before, Mr. Contreras worked at a steel mill operated by U.S. Steel. The job got too dangerous, so he decided to leave and take the offer at Parker. He has been here since 1983.

“Out of everything that happens every day--all the problems--I will always enjoy [my job] because of the kids I’m helping,” Mr. Contreras told us. He loves his job. He really enjoys the teachers he works with; they are nice, friendly, and all have their own unique personalities. Mr. Contreras enjoys working at a school more than somewhere else because of all the different things that happen daily. It gives him a new challenge every day. Even on our tour, Mr. Contreras stopped to help several teachers with different tasks. Mr. Contreras also uses his job knowledge to help repair things at home, which he enjoys.

Behind the computer he sits at, there are napkins and pepper shakers, just like the problems of a maintenance man: they are hiding from a person’s eye but they are still there. One of the most challenging problems for Mr. Contreras is fixing the heaters in the boiler room. He said when you fix one side of a pipe, the other side is broken and it’s an endless cycle. Weather is also a big challenge for Mr. Contreras. If the weather says it’s going to snow, they have to prepare for it before it happens, and avoid injuries or issues after it happens. Mr. Contreras drives the snowplow on the field to push the snow away. He also plows Circle Drive and other important places outside. If it snows, the trap door leading to the roof gets really heavy because of the buildup of snow, making it hard to get up there. The roof also has to get checked every five hours near the end of the school day to make sure everything is going well, along with all of the boiler rooms, the elevator control room, the air conditioning rooms and so many more. Once, in a high school science room, there was an electrical fire from the outlet. That was the worst problem the maintenance department has ever had to deal with, Mr. Contreras said. Another problem he has to worry about is getting injured on the job. Once, a wrench slipped, hit his finger and turned it purple. He said that his finger was “talking.” Sometimes, if he's really busy, Mr. Contreras even has to sleep at school! In this situation, he normally sleeps on the big cushion in the Draft Gym. Mr. Contreras and the rest of the maintenance crew are the base of this school; even the littlest “hello” means so much to them.

Since Mr. Contreras has come to Parker, it has changed a lot. Mr. Contreras said that there used to be a breezeway by the hopscotch and four-square area. Also, the field was not fake turf; it was a real dirt and grass field. "It used to be a mud pit," he said, and added that since the school changed the field, it has been way better and easier to maintain. He also said that since there were no computers before, the tasks they had to do would be harder to get word of, so fewer projects would be completed as quickly as they are now. Also, there was no fourth floor, so there was less to do. The good comes with the bad, so Mr. Contreras has to adapt to the conditions.

From 1983 and still moving forward, Mr. Contreras has been working almost every day to keep our school in top working order, checking to make sure it's safe and comfortable to learn in. The majority of us don't realize what would happen to the school if he weren't here. We have so much in the school that Mr. Contreras has to take care of--the bathrooms, heaters, air conditioners, clean water and so much more--that we use everyday. Mr. Contreras and his colleagues in the maintenance crew are always there and ready if you need them. Thanks to Mr. Contreras, Mr. Smith and the rest of the maintenance crew, we have a safe and smoothly functioning school. Mr. Contreras makes our lives so much easier, healthier and better in every way, every day.