Teachers rush onto campus with coffee mugs in their hands, frantically trying to get organized for the day. In urgent need for copies of notes, readings and worksheets for their classes, they make their way to the copy room, where stacks of papers are perfectly hole punched and stapled, ready for them to pick up.
Always saving the day, two “absolutely wonderful ladies” are there to help out, according to math teacher PJ Yim.
Behind the scenes of the copy room are Janet Verson, who has worked at the school for 15 years, and her colleague Nada Macesic, who has worked at the school for seven years.
The pair helps teachers copy and scan items such as tests, quizzes or notes. Teachers make requests for the number of copies they would like and choose a color out of the 12 available. On average, the two get roughly 70 or 80 requests per day, according to Macesic, who works the afternoon shift in the room.
The copy room consists of a laminator, two smaller printers and one large copier that Macesic jokingly calls the “Space Shuttle” because of its massive size.
The teachers are only permitted to use the two smaller printers, since the “Space Shuttle” requires special training.
The two often pay close attention to the machines because, according to Verson, “it just takes a little trigger for them not to work properly.”
Before school started last fall, Verson and Macesic encountered problems with two of the copiers. According to Macesic, the teachers were bringing tons of material in preparation for the first day, but the machines just weren’t cooperating. Due to the technology problems, they were unable to carry out the copy requests from teachers immediately.
“One machine went down and [then] the other went down and piles of copies kept growing, growing and growing,” she said.
This forced them to work longer on Saturday to finish the copies needed for the first day of school.
Ask any teacher on campus, and they’ll say nothing but nice things about the work of the copy room, pointing out that it is a consistent timesaver. Especially helpful is that Macesic and Verson are usually able to accommodate last minute needs. Yim said Verson, who handles the morning shift, is usually working by 7 a.m. so copies can be made even on a short notice.
“Teachers can spend more time focusing on the class and classroom issues, rather than standing in a line,” he said.
Similar to Yim, English teacher Catherine Head expresses her gratitude for the two.
“If I don’t have time to stay there and copy, they are absolutely vital,” Head said.
Both Verson and Macesic say working in the copy room is an enjoyable experience, filled with interaction with teachers and close friendships.
“You get to see them as something other than [co-workers], and actually as people just like you and me,” Verson said.
According to Head, both are her friends so going to the copy room is a joyful experience since it allows her to “do work and catch up with them.”
The copy room — and its hard-working employees — is one of the small but necessary reasons teachers are successful here.
“I’m very thankful that Saratoga is willing to allocate enough resources to hire people like [Verson] and [Macesic] to really help facilitate the learning environment,” Yim said.
