MALDEN -- Every morning, Scott Carbonneau does a walk across the grounds and through the halls of Cheverus School in Malden, making sure that everything is in its place and safe.

It's what Carbonneau, the school custodian, has done every morning for the last 20 years -- and what he hopes to continue doing every day until he retires.

"I like the familiarity of it," he said. "I feel that I'm putting my part in making a safe and nurturing work environment for the children to learn."

He is in charge of every aspect of the 118-year-old school building, from maintenance to cleanliness to security.

"I love the wood look and the architecture of it," he said. "They don't make buildings like this anymore. They're built to last."

He watches generations of students grow up and graduate. It's a small school -- 376 students, from pre-K to eighth grade -- so everyone knows each other. Sometimes, he will see someone in the halls and think to himself, "Wow, they look really familiar." "They" will turn out to be a former student who has come back to visit or volunteer.

"I think it's a nurturing environment," he said. "I like the people I work with. I like what I'm doing. I'm very faith-based. It's important to me."

Carbonneau, 60, is one of nine staff members who have worked at Cheverus School for over 20 years.

"I think it's a very loving atmosphere," said Principal Jeff Lane, who himself has worked at the school for 25 years. "I think it's a great place to work, and I think people truly enjoy being here."

Cheverus veterans (as Lane calls them), like Joanne Gaudet, find themselves teaching the children, sometimes even the grandchildren, of students they had decades ago.

"I feel old," joked Gaudet, who has taught at the school for 32 years, "but it also feels pretty good, because they are confident that we have a very good school here."

Students of Patricia Jackson, who at 45 years is Cheverus's longest-serving current staff member, often tell her, "My mother had you for a teacher."

"Yes, they did," she replies, "because I'm old."

Jackson, 71, uses her sense of humor to help her students navigate the pitfalls of adolescence. She teaches fifth-grade religion and sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade ELA.

"After four years, I pretty much know them, and they pretty much know me," she said.

She started teaching at Cheverus in 1981, after four unhappy years in public school. She found that at a Catholic school, the students and their parents treat her with much more respect.

"I feel like this is my family," she said. "I don't have a family right now. My family has passed away, so this is my family."

When she first came to Cheverus, there were still Sisters of Providence on its staff. Girls were not allowed to paint their nails or wear jewelry, except for stud earrings. If they had any earrings larger than that, they were sent to the principal's office.

"And now they all wear jewelry, but the respect is still there," Jackson said.

Her first assignment at Cheverus was teaching second grade. Back then, she only had three Black students in her class. Now the school is far more diverse, with over 50 languages spoken among the student body.

"But kids are kids," Jackson said. "No matter what they are, they're kids."

Two of those kids were Sam and Nesta. Sam entered Jackson's fifth-grade religion class as a recent arrival from Colombia. He spoke no English and used Google Translate to take tests. Nesta came from Kenya as a sixth grader, speaking only Swahili.

"The two of them are amazing," Jackson said. "They both wanted to learn so badly, and they both succeeded at what they wanted."

Sam and Nesta are now eighth graders on the Cheverus honor roll. Both will be attending St. John's Prep in Danvers this fall.

"Really nice and really kind," Sam said about Jackson. "She really, really likes her work, and likes to teach the kids."

Sam has almost straight As, while Nesta received a scholarship from the Lynch Foundation for his academic achievements and deep Catholic faith.

"Mrs. Jackson was a wonderful teacher," Nesta said. "She was slow with me. She understood who I was and what my level of English was, and she was there to help me."