School Secretary

Job Title: School Secretary

Reports to: Building Principal

Southwest Local School District, situated in the southwestern corner of Ohio, is composed of: Harrison Elementary School, Miami Whitewater Elementary School, Crosby Elementary School, the Southwest Early Childhood Learning Center, Harrison Junior School and William Henry Harrison High School. The District has achieved an "Excellent" rating from the Ohio Department of Education for the past four years and each of our schools have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education with Blue Ribbon Awards for Excellence in Education.

Our Mission: "Academic and Social Growth for all students, every day!"

Our Motto: "Excellence through Relationships"

Our Core Values: Trust, Respect, Ownership and Leadership

Southwest Local School District believes in providing the best possible learning environment by hiring, developing and retaining quality personnel. We believe that education needs to take a leadership role in improving society by enhancing activities/programs that help develop well-rounded students who can cope with everyday pressures. We are seeking a School Secretary for the 2024 - 2025 school year and beyond to join our team at William Henry Harrison High School.

Job Summary: The School Secretary will help run the daily operations of a school building by providing outstanding customer service to parents, visitors, students, and staff as well as assist in the management of building systems by performing the duties below.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide a welcoming environment for parents, visitors, students and staff by greeting visitors to the office, assisting with questions/ concerns, and answering phone calls.

• Communicate important information to the school community via newsletters, emails, phone calls and other means at the direction of the building principal.

• Assist with pupil management systems including attendance, discipline, and health clinics, providing medication and first aid as needed, with a focus on maintaining confidentiality.

• Maintain office equipment by performing routine and preventative maintenance/ repairs and notifying appropriate service personnel when necessary, including the ordering of all needed supplies.

• Manage building security systems such as door buzzers, alarms, visitor sign-in procedures, background checks, and assisting with emergency drills.

• Determine methods to track progress made toward annual or monthly goals, keeping building and district personnel informed of this progress on a regular basis.

• Assist in the planning and development of the building's operational strategies, policies and procedures.

• Collaborate with all administrators, teachers, and staff to successfully execute any improvement plans.

• Monitor district compliance with Federal and State regulations and requirements and district standards relating to school building operations; initiating corrective action as needed.

• Work cooperatively & maintain communication with building personnel and external contractors to discuss issues, resolve problems, and exchange information.

School Culture and Safety: Provide direction & oversight in the successful operation of the school building, including:

• Answer telephone calls in a welcoming manner, answering questions, providing non-confidential information, and taking/ delivering messages to school staff as requested.

• Greet students, parents, and other visitors to the school office and follow established procedures and policies regarding visitor sign-in, background checks, and access to students.

• Welcome and inform substitute personnel of assignment locations and relevant details, helping to locate substitute personnel or coverage of duties as needed.

• Assist students with injuries, illness, and other requests by providing first aid/ medication, or directing them to the appropriate school personnel (nurse, counselor, principal, etc.), completing any required reports as necessary.

• Adhere to all district health and safety policies, including precautions for bloodborne pathogens, medication administration, visitor sign-in procedures, background checks, and other relevant policies.

• Collaborate with building principals, teachers, and staff on emergency drills such as fire drills, tornado drills, and intruder/ evacuation drills, completing all necessary documentation as necessary.

• Maintain an inventory of keys, ensuring that all exterior doors are closed and locked when appropriate, the buzzer/ monitor system is functioning, and assist in the execution of all arrival/ dismissal procedures.

• Work collaboratively with building administration, parents, school staff and others on matters related to building operations and safety, providing timely responses to questions or concerns as appropriate.

Communication and Organization:

• Maintain confidentiality and a need-to-know policy with regard to student and staff information in all correspondence, both internal and external in nature in collaboration with building and district administration.

• Compose or transcribe from rough draft correspondence, bulletins, memorandums, emails, etc. on behalf of the school administration to teachers, parents, and members of the school community.

• Compose and distribute the school newsletter ensuring all relevant information and a calendar of events is included based upon input from the district administration, building principals, school PTA, and other staff members.

• Maintain a calendar of school events that are school or PTA sponsored, as well as those outside groups that may require building use contracts and/ or fees.

• Label, maintain, and utilize mail boxes for teachers and staff, communicating messages and distributing external and inter-office mailings to staff as indicated.

• Assist with the scheduling and reminders of all school events, including conferences, making note of any upcoming dates for reports, meetings, and other relevant due dates.

• Manage school dismissal over the intercom system and monitor radio correspondence between drivers, district offices, and the school to ensure all students are transported safely to their designated stops.

• Inventory, track, order, and dispense supplies as needed to ensure the efficient operation of the building.

School Systems and Operations:

• Manage student attendance, tracking all absences in accordance with the guidelines set forth for truancy by the state of Ohio and maintaining correspondence with administration/ counselor for truancy issues

• Update student enrollment figures on a monthly basis and communicate these numbers to district office.

• Manage staff absences via the system that the district has in place, creating absences/ locating substitutes/ arranging coverage as needed/ maintaining accounts as needed.

• Submit teacher attendance records and staff time sheets, mileage forms, sick/ personal leave forms, and other key payroll forms for processing at district office.

• Maintain office equipment, perform routine repairs and preventative maintenance, and notify appropriate service workers when necessary, and ordering supplies for building equipment as needed.

• Assist in development, revision, implementation, and oversight of building goals, operational standards, policies and procedures related to the efficiency and productivity of the school.

• Monitor district compliance with Federal & State regulations and requirements and take corrective action as needed.

• Oversee completion of required documentation and reports for building, district, and state levels.

• Attend various internal and external meetings relating to building operations and safety.

• Respond to emergency situations and matters of concern regarding building operation or safety issues in a timely manner, collaborating and communicating with building administration and staff as needed.

Supervisory Responsbilities: This person will supervise students visiting the health clinic or in the office for disciplinary/ dismissal purposes. Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the district policies and negotiated agreements.

Qualifications

• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/ or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and Experience:

• High School diploma required.

• Experience in schools, finance, or other administrative work recommended.

• Valid certificate/ license as issued by the Ohio Department of Education if necessary.

Other Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to maintain confidentiality of student, staff, or sensitive information is non negotiable.

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with students, peers, parents and the community.

• Ability to speak clearly and concisely in written and oral communications.

• Ability to perform duties with awareness of district requirements and BOE policies.

• Must have excellent organizational and time management skills.

• Experienced and proficient in use of technology such as Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.

• Excellent verbal (including listening) and non-verbal communication skills.

• Must be able to provide demonstrated leadership in the execution of communication strategies.

• Must be able to work independently.

• Pushing the agenda and goals of the school district is imperative.

• Political acumen and organizational support is strong focus as well.

Benefits:

Southwest Local School District participates in the Southwest Ohio Organization for School Health (SWOOSH). SWOOSH is a health and wellness consortium for school districts and government agencies that come together to provide stability and quality access to health care and benefits to all eligible members. Full-time employees have access to the benefits below:

• Retirement

• Health Insurance

• Dental Insurance

• 100% paid by District

• Vision Insurance

• Life Insurance

• Employee Assistance Program

• Mental Health Benefits

• Paid Time Off

Southwest Local School District provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment.