Time to Recognize All School Employees
By Xavier Botana
I’d like to propose an additional new designation for
October: School Employees Appreciation Month.
Officially, October is National Principals Month. National
Custodial Workers’ Recognition Day also falls during this month, as does School
Bus Driver Appreciation Day. National School Lunch Week also took place this
month, a chance for our Food Service staff to showcase the delicious and
nutritious foods they prepare for our students each day.
All these recognitions underscore the wide variety of staff
essential to the running of a successful school system. And although our jobs
are very different, each of our more than 1,200 Portland Public Schools staff
plays a very important role in ensuring all our students have successful
learning experiences.
That’s why I want to express my appreciation to all our
school employees for their dedication and service.
Let’s start with our principals.
A U.S. Senate resolution designating October 2016 as National
Principals Month says, “Principals are educational visionaries, instructional and
assessment leaders, disciplinarians,
community builders, budget analysts,
facilities managers, and administrators of legal and contractual obligations.”
It also says their job involves working “collaboratively
with teachers and parents to develop and implement a clear mission, high
curriculum standards, and performance goals.”
We have great public schools in Portland – and that’s a
clear testament to those leading them. Thank you to our Portland Public Schools
school leaders – our principals, assistant principals and teacher-leaders!
Now a few words about the vital role our support staff plays
in our schools.
We sometimes take for granted that our school floors and windows
are shining, our trash baskets emptied and the building temperature not too hot
or too cold. We also expect our buildings to be open after school for sporting
events, extracurricular activities and meetings.
But those things only happen because of our dedicated
maintenance staff. Many thanks to our custodians and other maintenance
personnel for all they do to ensure our students have clean and comfortable
facilities in which to learn.
And then there are our school bus drivers.
Before the first day of kindergarten classes this year, I
took a practice bus ride with a group of youngsters about to start kindergarten
at Lyseth Elementary School and their parents. It was a great opportunity for
these new kindergartners to have a chance to become familiar with riding a big
yellow school bus before their actual first day of school.
Being a school bus driver involves not only good driving
skills but also great people skills, and our Portland Public Schools bus
drivers exhibited both that day. The drivers not only calmed the students’
jitters but also their parents’. I am so grateful for our school bus drivers.
And let’s not forget that a healthy school lunch helps
students learn, giving them the energy to power through the day. As of Oct. 1,
55 percent of our nearly 6,800 students qualified for free or reduced-price
school meals. We have many students who might go hungry if not for school
breakfast or lunch.
Many thanks to our dedicated Food Service staff for all the
meals they serve and for incorporating fresh, local foods such as fruits and
vegetables that make them nutritious as well as good tasting.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the space here to also talk
about all our great teachers, educational technicians, school nurses, social
workers, Central Office administrators, office assistants and many other staff.
But please know that the work you do matters very much to our students – and
that we greatly appreciate you.
I’ll close by noting that the Portland Public Schools
teaches our students to be good citizens. Part of being a good citizen is doing
our civic duty, so I hope you’ll take the time to vote on Nov. 8. And I’ll
remind you that the Portland Board of Public Education has endorsed “Stand Up
for Students,” the citizens’ initiative on the state ballot that would generate
about $157 million more in state education funding. If that Question 2
initiative passes, Portland stands to get approximately $11 million in
additional state aid, reducing our reliance on local property owners. That’s
something many Portland taxpayers can appreciate!
