When it comes to schools, there’s no shortage of heroes, from teachers to nurses to those who keep children safe on the playground.

For this week's “Everyday Heroes,” Spectrum News 1 profiles a lunch and recess monitor who has worked for the Scotia-Glenville Central School District for more than 44 years.

Geraldine Yager is pretty popular on the playground.

"They're all their own person," Yager said of the students. "They're developing and growing. And, please put the stick down. What is that?"

The kids keep her on her toes. There’s never a dull moment at Lincoln Elementary School. And she’s always there to be their biggest supporter. Yager started working with the district in 1979 and has returned every year since, overseeing generations of families, including some of their parents.

"I came up here to work in the cafeteria, and I never left. And I always wonder what my purpose in life was. And I didn't realize I was in it," Yager said.

With her own kids grown and out of the house, she looks forward to a day full of laughter.

"It's just phenomenal to see how, how they just from kindergarten to 5th grade, now 5th graders are leaving and it gets hard. That last day of school, a lot of tears," Yager said.

Her dedication to the kids has taken her on many adventures.

"The kids. It's all about kids. It's all about the kids. I love them. They're wonderful. They're entertaining. And they teach me something all the time. I always learn something from them," Yager said.

In 1981, Yager organized a bus trip for high school students to Washington, D.C., for the homecoming of a group of American hostages who were captured during the Iranian hostage crisis.

"Because to young people, it's a word. And they didn't tell. You don't feel anything. It's just a word. And my bringing them down to Washington, they were actually able to see how important their freedom is," Yager said. "It should be protected. Our democracy, it's very important, and I think the kids need to know that. So that group of kids, they know it. They lived it. They saw it."

She’s comforted the kids during an isolating pandemic, when she came up with creative games to keep them going, and welcomes students and their families to feed the fish at the pond outside of her home.

"She's been picking flowers in my garden since before she started kindergarten. And here she is now, you know, in fourth grade. It's just amazing. I watched them grow," Yager said. "These kids that need the support of the community to get everything that they need so that they can succeed in life."

With graduation season upon us, Yager's sad to the little ones go. But years later, when she hears from them, some who went to go serve the country or went into health care or politics, that’s what makes her heart full.