Kelli S. Hewett
Michael Franklin, custodian at Hewitt-Trussville High School
Michael Franklin, custodian at Hewitt-Trussville High School, found his calling later in life and only wishes he started sooner.
Michael Franklin’s workday at Hewitt-Trussville High School starts in the dark, long before the first bus pulls up. By 5 a.m., he has disabled the alarm, unlocked doors, straightened the principal’s office and set up metal detectors for the more than 1,500 students who will soon stream through the front entrance.
“I love it,” Franklin said. “It’s not a job. I get to see these kids grow. This was my calling. I just wish I would have done it a lot earlier.”
Franklin spent 22 years in fiber optic work as a self-contractor, climbing poles at midnight to keep the internet running. About four years ago, his wife, Dolores, a physical therapist, nudged him toward something safer and more sustainable.
He wound up at the high school just down the road from his home, where both of his children graduated.
Franklin’s responsibilities are technically custodial — cleaning, fixing stopped-up sinks, setting up testing tables and graduation chairs and keeping the campus in shape. He prides himself on a spotless campus, and his enthusiasm is contagious.
“I’m proud of myself when there’s no trash out there, when the leaves are cleaned up,” Franklin said. “It makes me feel good when everything looks good.”
Inside, he notices the things others miss: fingerprints on door handles, smudged windows, water nozzles that need wiping and those corners that are easy to overlook.
“I always clean the little extras,” he said. “Somebody else might not see it, but I see it.”
He also quietly mentors students assigned to do community service for things like minor traffic offenses, giving them real work. He also expects them to arrive on time.
Franklin’s influence stretches far beyond mops and leaf blowers. He wants every student to know him.
“Every time I pass a kid in the hall, I tell them good morning,” he said. “I want them to feel like there still is kindness out in the world. Any of my kids can say anything to me. I’m a listener.”
Raised by a single mother of four boys, Franklin started helping his own school janitor at Fultondale Elementary when he was about 10 or 11 — cleaning bathrooms, shoveling coal for the school’s heater and burning trash in an incinerator.
He also took over much of the cleaning for his mom because he saw he could help lighten her load. At home today, he likes to take the lead in cleaning. His Italian wife cooks delicious meals and Franklin cleans up. He also takes the lead with the vacuuming and the laundry.
“I love to work. That’s something I love doing,” he said. “It has always made me feel good to do it.”
Today, Franklin still measures his success by what others experience when they walk through the doors.
“I hope it helps them do better at their job,” he said of teachers entering a clean school.
Sometimes, students and staff confide in him about much more than spills or broken fixtures. When a student once texted that he “wasn’t doing good,” Franklin went straight to the counselor’s office for help, concerned the boy might be in serious trouble.
“When you see a kid in trouble, you want to help them,” he said, grateful the student was OK. “This world is too hard not to give a helping hand.”
Principal Aaron King says Franklin has redefined what “custodian” means on their campus.
“If you think about it,” King said, “I’m a custodian for my three daughters, but he’s a custodian for this campus. Literally, this is his baby. He takes care of it the way a father or mother would.”
King said Franklin’s example lifts the whole building.
“If everyone in this building worked as hard and conscientiously for the good of the kids as Mike Franklin does, we’d be the number one school in the world,” King said. “He is so much more than his job title. He adds to the culture in a positive way and just raises the expectations for everyone.”
