Overview:
This position is primarily responsible for providing support to the counselors, psychologists, dean of student life, and principals. He or she also assists with student withdrawals and management of incoming students under the supervision of the counselors, psychologist, dean of student life, and principals. It is expected that the secretary will assist other members of the counseling office staff as necessary and as workload permits.
Responsibilities:
- Providing secretarial support to the dean of student life, counselors, and school psychologist.
- Coordinating the schedules of appointments and meetings for counselors and psychologists.
- Maintaining all records, correspondence, etc., in a well-organized and accessible manner.
- Maintaining strict confidentiality of all school and respective student records.
- Assisting counselors in the orientation of new students and visitors:
- Helping disseminate schedules to students, parents, and teachers
- Assisting with student transition into and out of SAS and between grades within SAS by maintaining placement data and adjusting schedules according to placement needs, as directed by counselors, psychologists, and/or principals.
- Preparing information necessary for Open House and New Family Orientations
- Supporting in the technical management of reporting systems (report cards and PowerSchool) and electronic distribution of report cards to relevant people.
- Constructing student and parent email lists for various tasks (Parent Teacher Conferences, End of Year, PowerSchool Logins, etc)
- Attending to general inquiries from students, parents, and visitors.
- Contributing to the team approach with the other counseling secretaries in student attendance record-keeping and communications using Veracross and other record-keeping systems.
- Answering and screening incoming telephone calls and counselors telephone calls when they are unavailable.
- Assisting with the maintenance of the counseling library/bookshelves.
- Scheduling appointments
- Entering student names in teachers class schedules in PowerSchool.
- Receiving and checking student address changes before submitting to the admissions office for updates in PowerSchool.
- Assisting teachers and instructional assistants regarding student information in PowerSchool.
- Covering the other counseling secretary's work in their absence.
- Ensuring compliance with all school policies and procedures as related to the job responsibilities of this position.
- Relating courteously and effectively with students, parents, school personnel, government personnel, and community members as necessary.
- Performing other duties and functions as assigned by the Counseling Department Coordinator, Dean of Student Life, Deputy Principal, and Principal.
The above job description is only indicative of the broad set of duties and responsibilities. Distribution of tasks is assigned by the supervisor. Other tasks may be assigned on the job, as deemed necessary by the supervisor.
Qualifications Required:
- Diploma or a relevant professional certification from a recognized Institution/polytechnic
- Strong English communication skills, both written and oral
- Excellent organizational and office management skills
- An openness to learning new tasks and an ability to problem-solve issues with schedules, PowerSchool, Veracross, information management, etc.
- Demonstrates competence in computer applications for word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, and scheduling, with an interest and ability to learn new applications. Preference given to those familiar with the suite of Google apps.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to handle multiple responsibilities and priorities concurrently
- Positive work attitude and initiative
- Ability to work cooperatively and provide assistance as necessary to other team members
