Claudene Wilson doesn’t like to be in the center of attention. The Swedeborg School District’s former custodian would rather tidying classrooms or driving students to class.
Except now, her name sprawls across the newly dubbed “Claudene Wilson Learning Center.” At the start of the school year, the small community in central Missouri decided to celebrate Wilson’s more than 30-year-tenure by naming its K-8 elementary building in her honor.
Staff and students managed to keep the recognition a secret until they unveiled the school’s new sign in August.
“I was shocked. I really didn't know what was going on,” Wilson said. “It was an honor. It's very nice that somebody thinks that much of me.”
Wilson said she started working for the Swedeborg School District in 1992. The school originally only needed a custodian to work four hours a day, but as the building grew, so did Wilson’s role.
She eventually took on a laundry list of jobs — students affectionately called Wilson their “bustodian” — like driving the bus, mowing the lawn and even filling in on the office phones.
Wilson has mostly retired this school year, but she still helps on the bus a few days a week — at least until the district hires more drivers. After more than three decades, Wilson said the kids are what kept her coming back.
“I'm not a hero,” Wilson said. “I'm only here to do what I have to do for the kids.”
Dr. Jim Bogle, the Swedeborg superintendent, said he met Wilson decades ago when he worked as a superintendent for another district. He said they would help each other out, like patching up a leaking school roof together.
Bogle said it was a simple decision to name the elementary after Wilson — and the seven-member school board agreed, unanimously.
“To have someone like Claudene Wilson work for that school for 30 years and do all she did, who else should it be?” Bogle said. “There's nobody that's done for that school what Claudine has.”
Many of the school’s parents remember sitting in Wilson’s bus themselves, including the current board president Chuck Boren. He was an eighth grader when Wilson first started driving for the district, and she was still doing so when Boren’s own son, Canaan, began classes at Swedeborg.
Boren called Wilson the “lifeblood” of the school. He said that Wilson, who has one son, treats every student at the school like they're her own.
“She's there for them every day. It goes beyond just her duties as whether it's custodian or bus driver, she's so empathetic, and she's attuned to the kids,” Boren said. “She really forms a bond, a special relationship with each kid.”
Wilson said her favorite memories include the “sincere” but funny things she’ll hear from the youngest students.
One second grader mentioned that Wilson gets him tissues when he needs them. Other students remembered the deals they’d make with Wilson to improve their grades — they’d get a lollipop if they received an “A.”
Swedeborg students called Wilson kind — but that she was stern when she needed to be.
Canaan, an eighth-grader, said his favorite thing about Wilson is the way she jokes around.
“Her being there, she brings a certain atmosphere to the school,” Canaan said. “You feel safe there.”
When they learned that their school would bear Wilson’s name, students said they were surprised — but that she deserved the honor.
“Really, just kept the school in business, honestly,” fifth-grader Edynn Frank said.
“She worked here for a long time, and she’s always been here,” said eighth-grader Abel Johnson. “So we always want to remember her.”
Teachers feel the same way. Kristi Cargill — who teaches second, third and fourth grades — has known Wilson for the 14 years she’s held the job. Her kids had Wilson as a bus driver, too.
Cargill said Wilson always checked on teachers, to see if they needed a bathroom break or any classroom repairs, by flashing them a thumbs up outside the hallway window.
“I love coming in from the summer, very first of school, and you can see the reflection of the lights in the floors because she has waxed and shined them so well,” Cargill said. “She doesn't do things halfway.”
Swedeborg School District is working on finding more bus drivers so Wilson can enjoy her retirement and spend more time on herself.
As for what that free time will actually entail, Wilson says, “Who knows? I ain’t decided on that yet.”