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LAYTON — Every year, before Layton High School’s 2,080 students return to school, Rod Southam takes a moment to admire the gleaming gym floors, freshly scrubbed desks and spotless windows.
“I just say to myself, ‘Can we keep it looking like this all year long?’ ”
After decades of working as a school custodian and now facilities coordinator at Layton High School, Southam knows that pristine state won’t last, but not for a lack of trying by the team of custodians he oversees.
It’s their job to keep the 347,569-square-foot school and campus clean and safe — a responsibility that’s gone next-level during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, they’ve been asked to focus on disinfection.
“I think the schools are the most clean and germ-free than they ever have been,” he said Tuesday.
While some people might shun the job because of potential exposure to COVID-19, Southam said school custodians understand they play an integral role in mitigating infection and keeping schools open.
“I would want to be the first in line to protect the kids, that’s for sure,” he said.
It’s because of that degree of dedication and pride in his work that Southam was recently honored with the state-level Recognizing Inspirational School Employees (RISE) award, said Jason Lewis, Utah School Employees Association president. He will be Utah’s nominee for the U.S. Department of Education’s RISE award.
“Rod stood out as being a mover and a shaker at both Layton High School and his community,” Lewis said in a statement.
The award honors classified school employees who exemplify excellence in work performance, leadership and community involvement.
“He brings pride to his school with his work ethic, professionalism, leadership and his overwhelming care for everyone in his building. For decades, Rod has been an influential employee with scores of instances where Rod has gone above and beyond his position,” Lewis said.
Southam oversees a team of 16 custodians during the school year, which bumps up to 20 workers in the summer, when the deep cleaning of schools typically occurs.
Southam got his start in the Davis School District as a part-time custodian and stuck with it because he recognized it was stable employment and he really enjoyed being around students and staff.
“It was like I’m not going to have to worry about a company going out of business. Each year, it just became better and better,” he said.
Southam’s been at Layton High School for the past 13 years of his 31 years with the school district.
“I’m a Lancer at heart because I started my whole career as a part-time custodian here at Layton High. I had two really strong and great mentors that were ahead of me. Those two guys really blazed the path and created the interest for me to become a head custodian,” Southam said.
Custodians are responsible for keeping schools clean, but the job transcends buffing floors, emptying trash cans and wiping down lockers. Students come to view custodians as trusted adults in their schools.
Over the years, students and staff have expressed their appreciation for his labors in many different ways, he said.
He has worked at elementary, junior high and high schools.
I would want to be the first in line to protect the kids, that’s for sure.
–Rod Southam, Layton High School facilities coordinator
Little kids “just adore you. They’re hugging your legs and want to help you put up a table or do this and that and they just love you to death.
“Then you work your way all the way to high school and the kids still love you, but they show it in different ways.” He and his colleagues are occasionally given thank you cards, donuts and other treats by students and staff.
“They’ll bring banners in the hallway or the office and and occasionally in an assembly, they’ll recognize and acknowledge us. So yeah, we get props and it’s very appreciated,” he said.
On occasion, students reach out to them for help.
Once, when Southam was working in a junior high, a student walked up to him, grabbed his arm and told him she was about to have a seizure.
“So I just held her tight and gently laid her down on the floor and of course, I called administration right away. But, you know, the very fact that she felt comfortable to even come to me for that moment, you know, that was that was nice to know,” he said.
Layton High Principal Chadli Bodily has high praise for Southam.
“This is the best custodial crew I’ve ever worked with and it is all because of Rod and how he is able to manage and inspire employees and put the needs of others well above his own,” Bodily said in a statement.
Last Friday, the school surprised Southam by summoning him to an “emergency meeting” in the school’s commons area.
His wife and daughter were in on the surprise and had known about the award for a week before it was sprung on him. Gov. Gary Herbert’s education adviser, Karen Peterson, presented Southam the award in front of the school faculty, staff and his family. There are only two such awards presented each year in Utah.
“It was shocking, I’ll be honest with you, it was shocking for the award and because everybody involved kept it secret. My wife had to hold her tongue for over a week,” he said.
Southam said he has been blessed with good health, really enjoys his work and plans to stick with it. “I’ve got several years to go,” he said.
Correction: An earlier version said Southam was the winner of the national RISE award. He won the state-level award and is a nominee for the U.S. Department of Education’s national RISE award.
