Albuquerque school employee carves unique signs for classrooms

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An elementary school employee is going above and beyond his job duties and showing off his creative side. Jacob Flores has been the head custodian at Mission Avenue Elementary School for almost eight years. He said he first came up with the idea to make wooden signs for the classrooms during a teacher conference when people needed directions.

“It’s meant a lot to me as far as, you know, the joy that it brought the kids and the teachers. They were just very happy, you know, to have these little things above their classroom,” said Head Custodian Jacob Flores.

The nine signs are made of particle board and include animals like an elephant, fox, and hummingbird. There is even one special sign featuring a pre-historic creature, a dinosaur.

“It’s kind of out of place if they were all different dinosaurs, but he’s the one that’s kind of a little out of place,” stated Flores.

Flores acknowledges the signs can sometimes cause some distractions in the hallways.

“The kid is just walking and maybe running into another classmate because they were staring at the animal and things like that,” stated Flores.

Overall, they’ve been a hit. He said he couldn’t have done it alone and partnered up with the school’s art teacher.

“I drew them out, he would cut them out, and then he’d bring them back to me to paint so it was like a one-at-a-time thing over a month’s process,” stated Cheryl Padilla Maldonado, art teacher at Mission Avenue Elementary School.

Flores has also made other wooden signs around the school that help kids find the counselor’s office or the bathroom. Cheryl Maldonado said the project is good example of how the school is like a family.

“The kids loved them, and you can see the happiness in their faces, but the teachers coming up to us and really excited about it was the coolest thing,” explained Maldonado.

“I did it because I wanted to do it, and I left it at that, and I just continue to do what I do, and next thing you know, here we are,” said Flores.

Flores said he used his own funds to create the wooden animal signs. He adds that once a teacher retires or leaves, they get to keep their wooden name tags. Flores explained that his next project will include signs for the portable classrooms outside.

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