While doing random errands yesterday, I came upon multiple school buses running their routes. Getting ready. Making sure they know where to go and how to get there. Bus running is not an easy task. You couldn’t pay me enough money to be a bus driver. A million? No thanks. School bus drivers are made of steel, with hearts of velvet. They are the first people kids see in the morning. A good bus driver knows this and rolls out the red carpet with kindness. Yet, when their passengers get too rowdy, they drop the hammer with grace. I couldn’t do it. I would stop the bus and kick every kid out and drive away, leaving them to think while they walked to school. The bus drivers I know don’t make a king’s ransom. Not even close. To me they are some of the most underpaid people on the planet. Thank you to all the school bus drivers who are about to welcome students back onto their busses tomorrow. You are the beginning touchpoint of every good day.

Speaking of being underpaid…what about the cafeteria workers? They get up at the crack of dawn to cook for multitudes of kids who might not get food at home. They don their hairnets and aprons with sleepy eyes. By the time the kids arrive their smiles are fully functional. Breakfast first, then lunch right after, for HUNDREDS. If I had to cook multiple meals for hundreds of people every day you would have to shoot me. I couldn’t do it. These workers are determined no kid will go hungry on their watch. Thank you to all the cafeteria workers for your dedication to feeding all the kids. Their learning would be hindered if not for your hard work.

Shall I mention the custodial staff? Some of the hardest positions to fill and keep full. Hard work. Cleaning vomit from the halls. Unstopping toilets. Cleaning classrooms at the end of every day. Working overnight to insure there is a clean environment for learning. Taking out the trash. Sweeping. Mopping. Vacuuming. Whatever the mess, they are there to clean it up. Waxing those floors during the summer when the air conditioning is off, is enough to make me sweat just thinking about it. Moving desks in and out and in and out. Usually just a handful of workers to complete every school in the system by August 1. Hell itself. But they do it. Every year. God bless them. Without them, school could not happen. Period.

Office staff. We all know they run the school. They take on every parent good and bad. They answer the phones and repeat themselves 1,000 times a day. They are the first line of defense in the event of a school lock down. They know most students, and the parents who love them. They know which kids are in hard circumstances at home. They offer smiles for free and sometimes hugs as well. They can stand firm on school policies no matter who is in their face. They can stand their ground all while remaining calm (at least on the outside), buzzing people in, answering the phones, handling dress code, taping up pants…and so much more.

Media center professionals. Trying to pull a love of reading out of kids who are addicted to devices. Teaching research skills. Monitoring thousands of books and now computers with a million platforms, assignments, and apps. Part IT, part administration, part magical library dragon. These people are hybrids. Skilled in a multitude of old and new ways that no one else could be. First and foremost, creating a love for reading. That is their heartbeat. It is what every task points to, even with all the added technological jobs they receive every year, reading is their first love. They can guide a student (or a teacher) to books as if they have read every one in the library…and honestly, they might have. They have the Dewy Decimal System memorized. They schedule group times, help teachers find resources, allow their space to be invaded regularly for staff meetings, conduct teacher trainings…all in addition to their job of helping students. They are magical creatures that must be protected at all costs.

Next are the nurses. Another job I could not do. From kissing boos-boos of pre-k students to passing out feminine products for middle schoolers, nurses run the gamut of developmental health issues. They show care when kids are hurting. They make phone calls to parents when sickness is like a wildfire jumping from classroom to classroom. They are lice patrol. They track and dispense medication for every student who has a need. Diabetics. Epileptics. Any student with specific illnesses. They change catheters for students in wheelchairs. They are called when anyone, student or teacher, has an emergency. Seizures. Heart pains. Broken bones. Any kind of medical issues. They are part first responder, part hospital bedside nurse, part mom. They wear all the hats. Schools would not function properly without them. Students are healthier because the nurses care enough to do this job.

Paraprofessionals and teachers’ aides are the unsung heroes in schools everywhere. They assist teachers by taking care of students with individual needs, or leading small groups. They are the teachers’ right hands. Helping do whatever is necessary to keep things running smoothly. Bottom line…they love on kids. That’s their job description. They get handed a lot of jobs in the process, but loving kids is central. They can be found in the media center, the in-school suspension room, the cafeteria, the before and after school programs, the special education classrooms, the carpool line, and in classrooms all over the building. They rarely get the accolades they deserve, but they love kids anyway. They are the helpers in every school. Look for them and you will find places where students are well cared for and teachers are saner.

Administrators get a bad rap. They are the management of the educational world. What business do you know where the management isn’t complained about? Yet, they are the ones who make the hard calls. They set the policies of the school. They have to watch the budget, pass along new regulations set by the state, make sure they are complying with EVERYTHING. They deal with irate and demanding parents. They deal with discipline of students. They make instructional decisions that affect every teacher. They set the culture of the school, and are responsible for the morale of the staff. They know more than they can say. They have to meet deadlines, oversee all the programs in the school. Make sure kids show up. Make sure they are learning. Make sure they are safe. Make sure the whole school functions smoothly. They do all this and are expected to smile while doing it. To never raise their voices. To remain calm in stressful situations. The buck stops with them. They know it. How they handle this stress can be the difference between a good administration and a bad one. A good administrative team is worth their weight in gold. Teachers know it. Parents know it. Students know it. Schools would be lost without a good administrator. Might as well just close the doors.

It is unfortunate that every school now requires a resource officer. Maybe even more than one. This role didn’t start off as a way to protect students from school shooters, but it has developed into one. These officers deal with whatever occurs on campus that is a threat, whether that is a student or an outside source. They are called whenever the law is broken. They are there for safety of all of the people in the building, but that is not all they do. They look out for kids who are not supported at home. They are firm but try to help kids stay on the right path. Try to help them see that their bad choices have consequences. They encourage kids to think about what they want their lives to look like and try to guide them towards healthy outcomes. They know their stuff and without them the anxiety level in every school would blow the roof off. They are everyday super heroes.

Last but not least, the teachers. They are the glue. If students are the why, teachers are the who. Who will stand up and take responsibility for the next generation? Who will make sure they have the knowledge they need to function in the world?  Teachers are the reason schools are in operation. Educators, educate. It is what they were born for. They just want to impart knowledge in a way that makes students hungry to learn more. They see every student as an individual with their own interests, personalities, and needs. They meet them where they are educationally and try to move them along to the next level. Always trying to find ways to reach kids who seem unreachable. Always trying to teach content and compassion. Problem resolution and interpersonal skills, in addition to subject matter. They make their classrooms functional communities that embrace all the students while making a space conducive to learning. It is no easy task.

They are the rope that politicians use for tug of war. They are pulled back and forth with great force by both sides, seemingly to the breaking point. They are blamed for every societal issue. They are accused of indoctrination. The public doesn’t have a clue what it is teachers do on a day to day basis, but they think they do. The pressure educators feel to not only teach the children in their care, but also to appease every group outside of the school threatens their physical and emotional health. Teachers are tired. They are weary of constant changes depending on who is in power. They do not set the standards, most of the time they are not even asked what standards are appropriate for a child’s developmental level. Yet they teach what the legislators and state departments of education require of them. It is a hard job, and they don’t do it for the pay. They do it for the love of children. When a teacher lays out the pros and cons of the job…the pro side of the list is very short. Children. That’s it. They want to teach children. They love your kids that much. The con side of the list takes up pages. There are so many reasons to walk away from this job, but what would happen to the kids? That is why they stay. The kids.

Teachers close their doors and they teach. Daily. Every day. They plug their ears to all the noise and being blamed for the state of our country. They set up their rooms to make learning a safe space. They dig into their subject matter with passion. They spend hours planning lessons to meet the needs of every student. Nothing inspires a teacher more than finding a way to simplify a hard concept enough for their students to grasp it. Teachers live for light bulb moments. Without them, our kids would be lost. Our world would stop.

Education brings hope. It brings freedom. It brings opportunity. No matter what else happens, education will go on, because teachers will make sure of it. Every person employed by a school system will make sure of it. From top to bottom. Education will never be perfect, but the people who work in the field will keep going. Always trying to improve. Always trying to come up with new ways to care for kids.

Happy First Day of school to all my friends in whatever role you serve. Thank you for showing up again this year. Hats off to you. Many prayers for a good 25-26 school year!!