Behind-the-scenes workers often the heart and soul of Nova Scotia schools

People who work behind the scenes are often the heart and soul of our schools.

They make sure that children get to and from class safe and sound, and that they get the extra help they need when school is too challenging or life has made going to class difficult. They keep children's bellies full, and classroom trash cans empty.

Here are a few unsung heroes that several school boards identified as beloved employees at their schools:

Paul Spin, bus driver at East Antigonish Education Centre/ Academy

Bus driving is in Paul Spin's blood. His grandfather was a bus driver. His father was a bus driver. 

And at age 19, after his father died, Spin became a bus driver to help support his family. Thirty-six years later, he hasn't looked back — or lost his love for driving.

"The more I can get on the road and get going, the better I like it."

Spin has driven the same morning and afternoon route in Antigonish County for 15 years. 

It usually takes him an hour each way to pick up and drop off all 38 kids who take his bus. He knows every one of them by name and said he treats them as he would his own.

"You're always looking out for the children all the time," said Spin, who doesn't tolerate bullying on his bus.

School principal Jim Kaey said Spin has no problem holding court with the kids. 

He called Spin his "go-to guy."

"Some bus trips are pretty blah, but I think Paul's are probably pretty entertaining," Kaey said. "You can tell he loves doing what he does and he's in it for the right reasons."

Betty Davison, cafeteria supervisor at West Hants Middle School

When a student is sitting alone at a lunch room table, Bette Davison takes notice. 

The nuances of a busy cafeteria don't get past her.

She'll quietly nudge a staff member on duty and ask the child's name. 

She said she feels bad when someone is sitting solo, being picked on or pressured to hand over their lunch money.

"She'll also pick out kids who are leaders," said school principal Karen Wallace. 

Davison will train those students to work at the cash register and then have them as helpers.

Started as study hall supervisor

Davison has worked at her school for almost 30 years. She started as a study hall supervisor, then worked as a teacher's assistant until a principal asked her to take over the school's cafeteria shortly after her son died at age 18.

"I thought, yep, that will keep my head a little busier," said Davison.

Work behind the lunch counter is definitely busy. Davison, with the help of one other cafeteria worker, makes lunches and snacks for about 200 students a day. 

"The kids are awesome," said Davison, who says the ones that act up are often the nicest to her because they want their lunch.

Nutrition is key

Of the thousands of hot lunches she's served over the years, she can single out students' two menu favourites — pizza and chicken fried rice. 

"The chicken fried rice, it came very early and I'm still doing it. It's easy and they like it, so why not right?" said Davison, who's tweaked the recipe over the years to replace white with whole grain rice. 

Nutrition is key, as is running a cafeteria that doesn't go into the red. Cafeterias in her school board have to at least break even or risk being shut down, she said.

It's not just her school she's looking out for. When schools in her board are losing money, it's Davison who's called in to help turn them around. 

Next year, she'll finally get a chance to take a rest. Davison says she'll retire in December 2017.

Kim Philpitt, head caretaker at Waverley Memorial Elementary

Kim Philpitt brings the 'care' in caretaker to her job every day. 

It's Kim who checks the grounds at school, making sure they're safe for play before the children arrive at school each day. When it's cold, she makes sure the sidewalks are cleared of ice and snow. Inside the school, her pride in her job is reflected in the gleam of the floors and the hum of a building that works just as it should.

"I like when someone comes in and they look around and they say, 'The school looks good,'" she said.

I call the school a family.- Kim Philpitt

Philpitt has worked at several schools in the Halifax Regional School Board. After 10 years working night shifts at a high school, she now works days at an elementary school. She asks the children to call her "Miss Kim."

"I feel like that makes me seem more welcoming," she said. "They know my job, they know what I do, and if there's a spill they come looking for me."

'It gets done right'

Philpitt said keeping up with technology is her biggest challenge. Much of what she does is done by computer, from placing supply orders to monitoring building temperature.

"When you have a role like a head caretaker, all of the functioning in our school depends on the attitude that she tackles that job with," Grade 6 teacher Scott Simpson said. "If something's not right she is one of those people that is going to make sure that it gets done right and does so quickly."

Philpiltt says it's a team effort.

"I call the school a family," she said. "Love the staff, love the kids, and I'm happy when I leave at the end of the day."

Barb Jerrett, education assistant at G.R. Saunders Elementary

Barb Jerrett calls her job "the hardest job you'll ever love."

She's has worked as an education assistant for the past 15 years. It's a job she pursued after raising her own children at home.

"I wanted to use my gifts to help children," she said. 

Jerrett works with teachers and administration to help children with academic, emotional or behavioural challenges. She also works with children who have autism. 

She said a child's happiness is her No. 1 concern. Her biggest challenge is that it's not always possible.

"It weighs very heavy on your heartstrings," Jerrett said.

'I always have hope'

She says the biggest thing she has learned over the years is to listen to the students at her school. 

"We know that adults have baggage, but children also have baggage, and we need to listen to them," she said. 

School principal Fraser Green says Jerrett has a loving, caring and nurturing manner.

"She's always looking for ways to provide that little extra support and enable students to celebrate things in their lives."

Barb said she has a motto: if you love a child, learning will happen. 

"I always have hope. I never give up."