Back at the small school in Indiana where I taught 20-some years ago, the chief maintenance man was called "the mayor" because at times he seemed to be the one who was really running the school. 

I thought of the mayor when I read a recent piece from teacherken, a widely read teacher-blogger at Daily Kos about all the members of the school team that contribute to children's education. 

Teacherken writes:

Far too often when we talk about those who work in the schools, our focus is limited to teachers and administrators.  As a teacher I know the importance of quality people in both roles.  But these ae not the only adults who make a school work, who help make the school a place of learning.  Thinks of the teachers’ aides who assist in the classroom,  the custodians who maintain and clean the school, the cafeteria workers who feed the students, the secretaries and clerks who handle the massive amounts of paperwork, the bus drivers who ensure that students get to and from school safely. These are Education Support Professionals.  That’s right.  I used the word "Professional" deliberately.   And far too often we ignore them, perhaps because  we do not give them the professional recognition to which they should be entitled.

As most good teachers understand, no school can be successful without good people working as classroom paraprofessionals, school secretaries, cafeteria workers, custodians, maintenance workers, and other positions that don't have the title of "teacher" or "principal."