Over the next several weeks, Lapeer Community Schools will pay tribute to many of the Unsung Heroes of the Pandemic. These are the employees who have been singled out by their colleagues for going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure we could keep our schools open for face-to-face instruction. Each Unsung Hero will receive a gift certificate courtesy of our friends at Meijer in Lapeer.

Every school needs a plug-and-play paraprofessional. Rolland-Warner has one in Kristen Jeans, the Swiss Army knife of the staff who has been at the ready at Rolland for the last five years. If something needs to be done, she can do it.

If she’s needed in the office, that’s where she’ll be; if a student requires one-on-one support, she’ll be there; if someone needs a hand in the lunchroom, she’s working the tables.

There’s probably not a job in that building she hasn’t done.

“And sometimes, it seems she’s doing all these jobs at once,” one colleague said. “She goes wherever she’s needed and never complains. She always has a smile on her face and is the epitome of positive vibes.” 

The students love her as much as her colleagues. They are always excited when she has to step in to the classroom to cover for a teacher.

In difficult times, we rely more than ever on people who can, at a moment’s notice, perform outside the normal boundaries of their employment, and Kristen is a perfect example. Without Kristen, and many other people in our paraprofessional ranks, we would not be able to provide the level of service to our students that they are accustomed to.

Very little about the last year in our schools has been normal, but one thing remains the same: Mrs. Jeans is there to help.