You may think that you want to quickly impress your grade level chair or rub elbows with the principal. Nonsense. The four critical relationships for a new teacher are the school secretary, the head custodian, the media specialist and the lunch lady. Those people run the entire school. I can promise you the principal has them on speed dial.  Those are the people who can and will likely do the most for you. When you need a bookcase moved, an additional desk, a field trip form, books about simple machines, an absence report, a computer fixed, or you want to refrigerate some ingredients for a project you are doing later in the day, these are the people who can help you. They are support staff, but make no mistake, they run the entire school. They know where things are. They know what is there. They are helpful. Treat them well. When there are occasions that call for little treats, be sure to include them. They will eat out of your hand. 

As part of the beginning of the year orientation with my PEC students, we travel all over the building to be sure they have an awareness of the many different places they will be in the course of a day or week. This includes, but is not limited to, the office, the lunchroom, the school gym, the school nurse, the restrooms and the media center. I have always found that the  staff in charge of these areas want to know our students and will watch out for them, especially the custodians, who are all over the school. 

Pamela Webster, M. Ed. SPED