Video: Elementary school custodian receives emotional send-off for his retirement

With hand-drawn posters, cheers and applause, children at a Northern California elementary school held a heartwarming celebration for their custodian’s retirement.

Pedro Reyes, originally from Michoacan, Mexico, worked at Monte Bella Elementary in Salinas ever since the school first opened a decade ago.

He would arrive at his shift early to make sure the campus was nice and clean before the kids arrived. 

“I felt like I was part of the school. As if it was something that was mine, that I needed to take care of,” Reyes said.

Reyes had no idea the school was going to have a celebration for him. He said he was at work doing his usual duties when they called him out to the playground and he was greeted by a crowd of children cheering for him and thanking him for his hard work.

“Seeing my dad come home that day with such joy and in tears, and with all his gifts and the posters that the kids drew,” Dalila Alvarado, Reyes’ daughter said. “I knew that he was very loved. And he would come home and share stories like, you know, ‘this happened at school today or that happened at school today.’” 

Alvarado decided to post the video on TikTok, not imagining that it would reach two million views and receive thousands of positive comments.

“People were like, ‘oh that reminds me of my dad,’ or ‘it reminds me of my mom,’ or ‘I know someone who represented a Pedro for me in my life,’” Alvarado said.

She recalled the memories of when her dad worked as a custodian at the elementary school where she attended. She said he would always watch over her and make sure she drank her milk and ate her fruit.

Reyes said he used to work in construction, but when his children came to the United States from Michoacan, he realized his job kept him away for too long.

He left construction and started working as a custodian at the Alisal Union School District.

Reyes said that he is one of 12 children in his family, and although his parents did not know how to read or write, they gave their children a wonderful education.

Now that he is retired, Reyes said the first week was very hard for him, but he is adjusting to his new lifestyle and trying to keep himself busy.

Reyes says he got along very well with all the students, teachers and staff at Monte Bella. He enjoyed telling the children jokes and dancing for them at lunchtime.

"I think we became very good friends, which is perhaps one of the reasons for the lovely tribute they paid me," Reyes said. "I got along wonderfully with the teachers and with all the staff."

He said what he will miss most about his job is “without a doubt, the kids.”