Most mornings, Walter Rutland stands near the doors of Atlanta Elementary School, greeting students as they come in with a good morning and a smile.

He sees more than students walking through those doors.

“This is the community walking through these halls,” Rutland said. “They’re not doctors and lawyers yet, but in a few years, this is Atlanta.”

It’s a perspective shaped in part by Rutland’s own history. He grew up in Atlanta, attended Atlanta ISD and graduated from Atlanta High School. After spending about 16 years in Louisiana, where he met his wife and got married, an opportunity brought him back home.

Rutland initially joined the custodial staff at the high school before moving to AES when the lead custodian position became available last spring.

“I walked through these halls when I was a little kid, so it feels like home anyway,” Rutland said. “It’s a good community, and everyone comes together. The AISD family is pretty tight.”

At AES, he has found that same sense of community among the people he works alongside each day.

“There’s just a good vibe at AES. The kids are great. It’s a very well-melded staff,” he said. “Everyone’s very nice, and everyone helps each other out.”

For Rutland, taking care of a school means more than keeping the building clean. The morning greetings at the door are part of that, as is paying attention when a student might need a little extra help.

One morning after breakfast, Rutland noticed a student was upset. Her glasses were missing, and there was a chance they had accidentally been thrown away.

So he went looking for them—in the trash.

“Every morning, I’m at that door saying good morning to the kids, and I’d been seeing her all year. One day, she was very upset,” he said. “I felt for the parent, and I felt for her. I figured I’d take a shot at it and try to get them back.”

He wasn't successful, but Rutland didn't think much of going through the trash to look for them. As a parent himself, he understood how much finding them could have mattered to the student and her family. He also wanted to spare someone else from having to do it.

“I do what I can where I’m at with what I’ve got,” he said. “To me, it’s just the service part of everything.”

Rutland knows students can arrive at school carrying things the adults around them may never know about. If there is a small way he can make one of their days a little better, he wants to try.

“I know kids, when they come here, they have all kinds of stuff going on,” he said. “If there’s one small way I could have helped make her day better, I’ll give it a shot.”

That approach is tied to how Rutland views the school and the surrounding community. The students coming through AES each morning are part of the same community he grew up in and returned to years later.

“In a way, we’re all neighbors, even if we don’t live together,” he said.

For someone who grew up here himself, that connection runs both ways.

“These are the people that raised me,” Rutland said.

Now, in a role that often happens quietly and behind the scenes, he has his own part in taking care of the place that helped take care of him.

“I just keep on keeping on,” Rutland said. “I want to make sure everyone has a clean and happy place to come learn.”