Teacher Appreciation Week is an opportunity to thank our teachers, and I am always happy when I see all the photos on social media, School communities are very creative and generous when appreciating their teachers! However, I have shared in the past that we should be thanking and appreciating teachers throughout the year, not just during Teacher Appreciation Week. A short note, a small gift, an email or phone call - these small acts of kindness can do wonders especially if the teacher had a challenging day.
It’s important to show aloha to our teachers, but let’s not forget the other workers at a school who are also essential in contributing to a positive climate for our students. It really does take everyone to ensure that the school runs smoothly.
The custodial staff is essential. Look around when walking into a new place. What do you notice? I loved walking around our school! The custodians were proud to keep our school clean and safe, but it was more than that. There was pride in their work. They took care of repair and maintenance issues in a timely manner and found ways to beautify our campus. When any of the staff requested something - a desk and chair for a new student starting that day, someone to take care of a centipede crawling on the floor, someone to clean up when a child got sick in class - our custodians responded immediately. When they heard a Code Nike over the walkie talkie, they immediately stopped to assist. They were calm and kept the child safe until a counselor, teacher, or administrator could take over. The custodial staff was essential to our school.
The office staff is essential. Until I became an administrator, I wasn't aware of how important the SASA and clerks are to the smooth running of our school. They are usually the first to welcome a new family or visitors to our school, and I was grateful that they showed aloha by smiling and getting up quickly with a "Hello, what can I do for you?". As a military-impacted school, we had a large number of transitioning families - 500-700+ each school year - and our office staff assisted families so they could complete all the forms and students could begin school as soon as possible. They also prepared the transfer packet so families could take it with them on the students' last day. Coming in early to make sure there was a substitute for every absent teacher, to following up on sick leave or personal leave forms, to accounting for field trip forms and money collected, to completing purchase orders and checking in the items as they were delivered, to ensuring that they passed along messages to the right person for follow-up - these are just a few examples of what our office staff did; they were essential to our school.
Educational assistants are essential. When I was starting my career as a teacher with the Head Start program, I worked with educational assistants. These EAs were often former parents who volunteered in their child’s classroom and realized how much they enjoyed working with children. Later I was hired at an elementary school for their preschool special education program. I had two wonderful EAs who were invaluable in providing support for our students. When I taught second grade and enrollment increased substantially, I was assigned an EA who was also a parent at our school. She loved the job so much that when her husband was transferred back to the mainland, she started a child care business. As a principal, our educational assistants were essential in their support for our school. With modeling from their teacher, they were willing to learn how best to help their students. They also helped all students in the morning before school began by helping in the cafeteria or supervising waiting areas. When our EAs noticed that students were bored with nothing to do while waiting for the bell to ring, they brought activities so the students could learn or create something new. After school, they were out in the hallways or escorting students to buses and assisting teachers or office staff. We had several EAs go back to school to get their teaching degree, and we hired them, knowing that they would be caring and wonderful teachers. Educational assistants are essential to a school.
The cafeteria staff is essential. They arrive at school when it's still dark outside and most of us are just waking up. They prepare nutritious breakfasts and lunches, knowing that for some students, this will be their only meals of the day. Our meal clerks and lunch supervisors were also essential. They ensured that students could get their meals quickly so they would have sufficient time to eat. We believed that lunchtime was an opportunity for students to socialize, so yes, it sometimes got noisy, but our cafeteria staff and lunch supervisors kept things running smoothly, and the custodians got everything cleaned up before the next group of students arrived. The cafeteria staff is essential to a school.
Counselors, behavior therapists, speech language pathologists, transition coordinator, parent-community coordinator - these were all essential positions at our school. Working with students who needed additional support, helping to welcome students and their families to our school, coordinating parenting activities or ensuring there were volunteers for our many school-wide or grade-level activities - our school was special because of all the supports our students and our school community received.
Bus drivers are essential. Without them, many students would not have a way to get to school. It is not easy to drive a bus while keeping an eye and ear out for what's going on behind you. I know I couldn't do that! Yet our bus drivers do it every day, twice each day, and I appreciate them. They are essential.
A school is more than the administration and the teachers. Let's appreciate all of our staff for what they do each and every day for our students and their families.
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