DeKalb elementary school custodian achieves 30-year dream

CLARKSTON, Ga. — A DeKalb County school custodian loves what he does but he says something has always been missing.

Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen was at Indian Creek Elementary where the custodian just achieved a major goal.

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Elmo DeSilva works 40 hours a week keeping the school up and running. But when he was a teenager, his own high school education had to be put on hold.

Indian Creek Elementary School in DeKalb County simply could not function without DeSilva. A custodian’s job can be hard, but he’s had it much harder.

“I couldn’t go to school because I had to mind my brothers. I had to make sure they ate and make sure they were OK. I had to play a parent role at a young age. I was the man of the house as a child,” DeSilva said.

DeSilva had to raise his two younger brothers. Thirty years later he had some unfinished business.

“This is a higher level of accomplishment. These are adults and somewhere along the line, life happened. They didn’t finish high school,” DeKalb’s School’s Family and Community Empowerment Manager Marcia Coward said.

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DeSilva recently earned his GED and his whole family attended the graduation ceremony.

“It actually brought tears to our eyes to see him walk across that stage. Knowing it’s something he worked so hard for, we felt the excitement for him,” DeSilva’s daughter, Jessica Taylor said.

DeKalb County Schools made the GED a district-wide program four years ago. They’ve gone from eight graduates the first year to 48 this year. DeSilva is part of a success story, the school district’s and his own.

“It closed a chapter I was never able to finish with. It’s very rewarding. It’s a big deal to me,” DeSilva said.

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Next week, DeSilva will officially be promoted to head custodian. The diploma he just earned is a requirement for the job.

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