Grandville — National School Custodian Appreciation Day is officially celebrated each year on Oct. 2. But at West Elementary, students and staff celebrate “Mr. Brett” Davis every day.
It’s hardly an exaggeration: A printout of the custodian’s school picture has hung next to a sign reading “Employee of the Month” in West’s main office for the past 37 months.
And there’s this: “West wouldn’t be West without Brett, really,” said third-grade teacher Heather Smith. “He works so hard, but then he is adding bits of jewels for us, all day long.”
With eight years at West under his (tool) belt, Davis has embedded himself into school culture in ways that are both meaningful and unexpected. In his official role as custodian, he mends things that need fixing before they break. He takes care of teacher work requests before they can be submitted. He notes inefficiencies and makes suggestions to improve the learning environment for students.
‘He’s goofy, and down to earth, and he’s just himself in everything — he makes it so much easier for the kids to know that ‘I can just be me.”
— third-grade teacher Heather Smith
“He just notices,” said Smith. “He’s noticing things all the time, so much more than his job requires.”
In his unofficial role, “He is someone who has an absolute love for serving kids and working in a school environment. He has such a kind heart,” said Principal John Wondergem. “He’s always positive and he’s very much in tune with what’s going on here.”
For Davis, that means he’s outside next to Wondergem every morning, greeting kids as they arrive at school. He knows nearly every student’s name. He gives them pep talks, high-fives, comfort and/or encouragement in the hallways, depending on what’s needed. He pops into classrooms to help kids with their work, and he welcomes the help when they want to assist with his tasks.
“We often joke that most of the day he’s not cleaning,” Wondergem said with a laugh. “And of course, he absolutely is taking care of our building, but he’s so efficient at what he does, and he values our school community so much, that he wants to be everywhere, supporting us throughout his day.”
But the biggest way Davis has made an impact at West might also be the most unexpected: through art.
The Fun (and Caring) Uncle
With an associate degree in art and a passion for painting, Davis originally hoped to become an art teacher; after a string of unfulfilling jobs he eventually found himself at West. At first, he’d draw doodles in the staff work room, throwing them away when he was done. That’s when then-Principal Brian Mulder (now principal at Oakestown Intermediate) stepped in.
“(Mulder) was like, you need to let me start hanging these in the hallway,” Davis recalled. “So I started drawing stuff for kids, like movie characters and stuff, and they got really excited. And it’s fun watching kids be happy about it.”
Now, Davis’s sketches adorn the hallways of West. He has his own easel set up in the main hallway where kids can watch the progress of his latest drawing (currently a “Nightmare Before Christmas” creation in honor of Halloween). At lunch, on days when food is served in tinfoil, he’ll make the kids tinfoil roses. He doodles on whiteboards throughout the school.
Anything to make them smile, he said.
“I just think it’s kind of cool for kids to see this regular, everyday guy being able to find time to do (art),” he said. “I’d like to think if they walk by and I’ve drawn some character that they like, it’ll maybe brighten their day. If I see a kid having a bad day, maybe it’ll make ‘em less upset. … (I feel) almost like a fun uncle or something.”
The staff at West have even incorporated Davis into their PBIS (positive behaviors) plan: One of the raffle prizes for good behavior is a 15-minute drawing time with Mr. Brett. It’s become one of the most popular selections.
“You have to go with what the kiddos are motivated by, and they’re motivated by Mr. Brett,” Smith said. “They want him to teach them how to do an origami piece or how to draw a certain character. And he’s goofy, and down to earth, and he’s just himself in everything — he makes it so much easier for the kids to know that ‘I can just be me.’”
Third-grader Avah Sheldon began drawing with Mr. Brett when she was in first grade and struggling with school. Smith said getting the choice to spend time with a friendly face was important to Avah when so much of the school environment was out of the girl’s control.
“I moved here and I wanted to learn to draw because I saw he drawed (the characters) Stitch, Bluey and other stuff, and he’s a very good drawer,” Avah said of Mr. Brett. “I wanted to earn (the reward) because he’s nice to everybody here. … He’s a very, very good janitor and he’s very, very, very, very, very nice. He always helps us and now I really like drawing.”
The change in Avah since then is like night and day, Smith said.
“She used to shut down a lot, and now that’s not her inclination,” the teacher said. “And we see those turnarounds and attitude changes all the time, thanks to Brett. I think he gives them this mindset shift. Like, some kids come to school just closed off, and he teaches them that life doesn’t have to be that way — that we can have fun, that we can smile, that school isn’t this awful thing.”
‘Every person’s role matters’
Wondergem said the custodian has that impact just about everywhere at West, whether it’s giving one-on-one attention or supporting an entire class. The principal recalled one day last year, when Davis overheard a reading group going over their vocabulary lesson. As they discussed the word “blueprint,” Davis had an idea.
Twenty minutes later, Wondergem said, the custodian returned to the classroom with the original blueprints of the West school building.
“It was just an amazingly cool teaching point — wrapping it all together with real-world context for these kids to see and touch exactly what a blueprint is,” Wondergem said. “For our school custodian to take it upon himself to do that? It was just so genuinely who he is.”
The principal said Davis’ involvement at West helps reinforce to students the idea that every person’s role matters, whether that’s in a classroom, in a school building or in society.
“We are so interconnected in so many ways, and when our students see Brett working with me, with our teachers, with our parapros, I know it teaches them so many great things. What I appreciate is that Brett is all about people — he cares about how everyone is doing, and he does that so seamlessly in his daily work.”
‘He’s a very good drawer. … He’s a very, very good janitor and he’s very, very, very, very, very nice.’
— third-grader Avah Sheldon
A man of relatively few words, Davis lights up the brightest when he gets to draw with students. And he blushes a little with all this attention.
But he’s proud, too. A little incredulous to be recognized, even.
“I was like, ‘Wow, maybe these kids kind of think something cool about me,’” he said. “This is by far and away the best job I’ve had. I can leave here every day thinking, ‘Hey, I made quite a few kids smile today,’ and that’s pretty cool.
“If all they remember is, not even my name, but they remember something like, ‘He used to draw stuff all the time,’ well, that to me is like the icing on the cake or whatever.”
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