School secretaries: pros/cons

[dminnie]

School secretaries please tell me about your job. What skills do you use the most? What skills does it help you develop? What do you like the most and least about it?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

DW is a school clerk. Basically the same job, but she's not year-round. She loves having snow days off (the secretaries still go in on snow days in our district) and the hours.

Best perk - 95% of the kids.
Worst aspect - the other 5% of the kids.

Heavy reliance on phone, filing, typing, and Customer Service type skills.

Things can get serious: non-custodial parents showing up trying to get kids, drunk/high parents showing up trying to pick up kids, kids assaulting teachers, etc.


Edit: should note the secretary at our school is an ex-teacher. She likes this job a LOT better despite the reduced pay & year-round employment. Everyone is different though.

 

[tvguy]

I don't think a single school my kids went to (1992 to 2009) had a secretary. They went the way of the school nurse when schools got voicemail systems.

 

[SLP958]

I have never been in a school that did not have a secretary.

At DS's school they seem to run the show. Very busy all the time.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I don't think a single school my kids went to (1992 to 2009) had a secretary. They went the way of the school nurse when schools got voicemail systems.

They've increased the # of secretaries & clerks in our district. DW goes to 8-hour days beginning next year. 6.5 hour days currently. There is NO way the Principle & VP could handle the volume of calls & visitors our little school gets in a day. The HS has 4 secretaries & 4 clerks, less than 1,000 students.

 

[Nancyg56]

I work for a board of education, and I beli8eve the school administrative assistants are the unsung heros in each school. These folks handle all of the issues that come into school, take care of the student activity accounts, field the phone calls, take care of the kids. I can tell you that when I call any one of them, it is crazy, they have to juggle so much at one time.

 

[tvguy]

They've increased the # of secretaries & clerks in our district. DW goes to 8-hour days beginning next year. 6.5 hour days currently. There is NO way the Principle & VP could handle the volume of calls & visitors our little school gets in a day. The HS has 4 secretaries & 4 clerks, less than 1,000 students.

There's another position I didn't see, Vice Principal, at least until Junior High. In my kids case, high school.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I don't think a single school my kids went to (1992 to 2009) had a secretary. They went the way of the school nurse when schools got voicemail systems.[/QUOTE

When I worked in a school there were 2.5 secretaries. They did the accounting, timesheets, ordering of supplies, daily bulletin, absent report, newsletters, booked appointments for the principals, etc. Who did all that at your schools? Secretaries aren't all about switchboards.

 

[dminnie]

I don't think a single school my kids went to (1992 to 2009) had a secretary. They went the way of the school nurse when schools got voicemail systems.

Thanks, but this isn't what my question was. I have never seen a school without a secretary. I don't know where you are, but that is not the case here at all. I'm wondering about people that work as school secretaries, or know someone that is one and what they like/dislike about the job. The job certainly still exists and, from what I can tell, is a very busy, high stress position with little pay. We also DO still have school nurses in our district. There are plenty of kids with asthma, ADHD, allergies and diabetes to keep them quite busy all day.

53388970, member: 413844"]DW is a school clerk. Basically the same job, but she's not year-round. She loves having snow days off (the secretaries still go in on snow days in our district) and the hours.

Best perk - 95% of the kids.
Worst aspect - the other 5% of the kids.

Heavy reliance on phone, filing, typing, and Customer Service type skills.

Things can get serious: non-custodial parents showing up trying to get kids, drunk/high parents showing up trying to pick up kids, kids assaulting teachers, etc.


Edit: should note the secretary at our school is an ex-teacher. She likes this job a LOT better despite the reduced pay & year-round employment. Everyone is different though.[/QUOTE]

Thank you. This is helpful. Does she interact much with the 95%? I'm debating applying for a secretary position and moving away from the TA position I'm currently in. I'm not sure if I'd see the kids much anymore though. It's nice getting to know them and seeing them progress.

I work for a board of education, and I beli8eve the school administrative assistants are the unsung heros in each school. These folks handle all of the issues that come into school, take care of the student activity accounts, field the phone calls, take care of the kids. I can tell you that when I call any one of them, it is crazy, they have to juggle so much at one time.

Thank you. This is very helpful.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

DW interacts a lot with the kids, although not as much as she once did. She used to greet all the buses in the morning & had recess duty once a day. She no longer has those duties. Still, she'll know all the new students by name by about Christmas.

 

[tvguy]

Thanks, but this isn't what my question was. I have never seen a school without a secretary. I don't know where you are, but that is not the case here at all. I'm wondering about people that work as school secretaries, or know someone that is one and what they like/dislike about the job. The job certainly still exists and, from what I can tell, is a very busy, high stress position with little pay. We also DO still have school nurses in our district. There are plenty of kids with asthma, ADHD, allergies and diabetes to keep them quite busy all day.

Very common here,but voice mail replaced secretaries in a lot of industries, including the one I work in. Here kids with severe health issues are usually in special ed programs. These days, with all the legal issues, a school staffer would just call 9-1-1 if there was an issue, they don't even allow medications anymore to be given by school staff in many public schools.

 

[lucas]

Are there any state colleges or in your area? Every department has a secretary (or 2). That might be another option besides grade school or high schools.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Wow that's interesting. I never heard of a district that put kids who have asthma or diabetes in special ed. I thought you needed a learning disability to qualify for that. I guess your state has different rules.

Very common here,but voice mail replaced secretaries in a lot of industries, including the one I work in. Here kids with severe health issues are usually in special ed programs. These days, with all the legal issues, a school staffer would just call 9-1-1 if there was an issue, they don't even allow medications anymore to be given by school staff in many public schools.

OP- The secretaries here are wonderful. They know everything that is going on in the schools and they seem to know every single kid. They work hard but seem to like their job.

 

[Diane♥Disney]

I worked as a school secretary for 10 years. I loved the job but it didn't pay very well. Most of the secretaries in our district worked only the school year. It was nice to have summers off and school vacations. But the down side to that is you didn't get paid for it.

 

[tvguy]

Wow that's interesting. I never heard of a district that put kids who have asthma or diabetes in special ed. I thought you needed a learning disability to qualify for that. I guess your state has different rules.

I suspect it is all budget cuts. But nurses have been gone for 25 years. About the time 9-1-1 went into service. Losing secretaries is more recent.
I went to an elementary school wttih 250 students. We had 1 nurse, 1 secretary, 1 cook, 1 janitor, 1 librarian and a Principal.

 

[scoutie]

I'm a teacher, and our school secretaries are the hardest working people in our building. I know they enjoy the kids, take LOTS of phone calls, are responsible for a lot of behind the scenes work. They deal heavily with getting teachers coverage when there are last minute illnesses/situations. All that I have worked with like their jobs.

Thanks, but this isn't what my question was. I have never seen a school without a secretary. I don't know where you are, but that is not the case here at all.

From what I've read on various education/teaching threads, TVguy is in a rare educational area where teachers make $80,000 on average, and the school spends millions of dollars on sports equipment.

Here kids with severe health issues are usually in special ed programs. These days, with all the legal issues, a school staffer would just call 9-1-1 if there was an issue, they don't even allow medications anymore to be given by school staff in many public schools.

This would be illegal in my state. Health issues have nothing to do with cognitive level. I teach gifted ed (Honors English), and I have two students with Type One, twins with Cerebral Palsy, and countless students with asthma. Putting them in a special ed classroom?! Unthinkable and highly illegal. In addition, all of our schools have a school nurse who gives medication.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Side note on the hardest working people in the building. During an assembly, DW was awarded the unofficial title of "busiest person in the building". When they called her to the stage, she wasn't there - she was busy running an errand in the building.

Everyone got a good laugh over that one

 

[dminnie]

Very common here,but voice mail replaced secretaries in a lot of industries, including the one I work in. Here kids with severe health issues are usually in special ed programs. These days, with all the legal issues, a school staffer would just call 9-1-1 if there was an issue, they don't even allow medications anymore to be given by school staff in many public schools.

Tvguy, I'm realizing that your responses are entertaining. I do currently work in a school as a TA and you're responses are reminding me of the kids that want attention so they raise their hands and ask totally off topic questions, instead of answering the teacher's question.

I worked as a school secretary for 10 years. I loved the job but it didn't pay very well. Most of the secretaries in our district worked only the school year. It was nice to have summers off and school vacations. But the down side to that is you didn't get paid for it.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it for so long. This would be an increase in pay for me since the position works a longer day than I currently do and works for about a month during the summer...still not as much as I'd like to make though. So, I guess this "con" is kind of a "pro" for me since it's at least an increase over what I get now.

I'm a teacher, and our school secretaries are the hardest working people in our building. I know they enjoy the kids, take LOTS of phone calls, are responsible for a lot of behind the scenes work. They deal heavily with getting teachers coverage when there are last minute illnesses/situations. All that I have worked with like their jobs.

Thanks. This is helpful. One of my concerns is that I might get out of touch with the kids. I really enjoy working with kids and it kind of seems like this position is a bit more behind the scenes than I prefer.

Side note on the hardest working people in the building. During an assembly, DW was awarded the unofficial title of "busiest person in the building". When they called her to the stage, she wasn't there - she was busy running an errand in the building.

Everyone got a good laugh over that one

That's so sweet that they recognized her in that way! Congrats to your wife!

 

[daughtersrus]

I don't think a single school my kids went to (1992 to 2009) had a secretary. They went the way of the school nurse when schools got voicemail systems.

Very common here,but voice mail replaced secretaries in a lot of industries, including the one I work in. Here kids with severe health issues are usually in special ed programs. These days, with all the legal issues, a school staffer would just call 9-1-1 if there was an issue, they don't even allow medications anymore to be given by school staff in many public schools.

So who calls parents if their child is not in school? Who complies all the data for the district office? Who arranges the material need for special school programs? Who sets up elavs/iep meetings?

If you don't have school nurses, who is in charge of student health records? Where is student medication stored? Do they really call 911 if a student fell on the playground and needs a bandage? What about when a student gets sick at school. Who determines if they need to go home or back to class?


This all seems so odd to me. Our local elementary school has 1 executive secretary for the principal. This person works year round. There are 2 other office secretaries that work 3 weeks longer than the school year (1/2 before and after) as well as one Special Ed secretary that also works 3 weeks longer than the school year. All of our schools have a full time nurse that is an RN. We also have assistant principals in every school.

 

[daughtersrus]

To the op. My friend has been a secretary at our local elementary school for years.
She's always said that the best perk was having most of the days off with her kids. She does have to work institute days.

From what she talks about, her job invokes a lot of computer data. Making spread sheets, data collections, mail merge, report cards, making sure state tests are handled according to procedure, designing and printing... And answering phones.

She would probably say that the worst part would bensome of the parents. The stories I have heard

Here, the pay is pretty good. They are union with full benefits/pension at least for now. I won't get into the politics of the governor's office/state.