Laboratory Schools: Secretary, Attendance, High School

Job Description:

Job Summary:

Provide general administrative, communication support to the Dean of Students around high school student attendance. Respond to others thoughtfully with clarity, tact, courtesy and compassion - especially when they are under stress or duress. Serve as a primary point of contact for the Dean of Students' office communicating with students,  teachers, staff,  visitors and parents/guardians on a daily basis in person, over email, and via telephone regarding attendance  and  general questions related to the Dean's office and the high school. Ensure accurate attendance accounting and reporting of student absences in Schools' database. Resolve attendance related issues ensuring compliance with the Schools' attendance policy. Convey attendance information to the Dean of Students in the High School, and other administrators as requested. Review and report on the teacher's use of the attendance database. Generate attendance reports and send letters/emails as requested. Act as a liaison between students, parents, staff, and appropriate administrators regarding student attendance. Provide support to the Dean of Students office generally, and by extension the Principal, Assistant Principal, and/or other administrator. Cross train and be familiar with the functions of the secretary of the Dean of Students. Develop and maintain an understanding of the organization and culture of the Laboratory Schools and the School Program. *This is a nine month position - approx. late August to early-June. May be required to work some evenings and weekends.

Responsibilities:

• Check voicemail and email first thing every morning in order to gather reported absences and tardies from parents. Immediately update PowerSchool with this attendance information. Respond to phone calls and email as necessary to answer questions and concerns. (15%)
• Run the "Teacher Missed Attendance" report every morning in order to ascertain which teachers failed to take attendance the day prior. Write to each teacher on the report and request an accounting for their classes. Update the students' attendance records accordingly. (15%)
• Throughout each school day, run an attendance report every other period in order to track student attendance. Ensure that attendance has been updated from phone calls and emails before reaching out to teachers and parents/guardians to  ask about a students' absence. For every student marked absent, write to the teacher to determine if the student arrived tardy. If the student did not arrive tardy, write to the student and their parent/guardian to determine their location. Update the student's attendance accordingly.  If the student can not be accounted for, immediately notify the Dean of Students (or if unavailable, the Principal/Assistant Principal) so that the administrator can work to locate the student. (15%)
• Run a report weekly of student tardies and absences for review with the Dean. Meet to determine which students and parents require a follow-up email due to concerns of too many tardies or absences. Log these data into a Google Excel spreadsheet in order to have an ongoing record for each student. Send out the emails to the students/ families. (15%)
• Receive, review and record Pre-Arranged Absence forms. Communicate directly with teachers for school-sponsored trips when students have failed to submit a form in order to ensure it is submitted. Ensure all required signatures are on the form. Update students' attendance accordingly, based on the form. (10%)
• On a daily basis (as needed) communicate and coordinate with the school nurse about student absences related to illness, reach out to student counselors and teachers as needed pertaining to student illness or absence. (5%)
• When field trips are scheduled, ensure that each student is marked in PowerSchool as being on a field trip for the affected periods. (5%)
• Run an attendance report summary daily at the end of the school day and send to the Athletic Director (AD), Asst Athletic Director (AAD), AD Secretary and Dean of Students. (5%)
• Answer phone calls, direct inquiries, receive visitors to the Dean's office, assist with distribution of student activities information/supplies, and preparation for school events, such as parent/guardian back to school night, parent teacher conferences and graduation. (10%)
• Other duties as assigned. (5%)

Competencies:

• Pay close attention to detail; recognize and resolve or refer problems and ensure prompt and accurate follow-through.
• Respond to others thoughtfully with clarity, tact, courtesy and compassion - adolescent students, teachers, staff, parents/guardians, co-workers, supervisor, and other visitors - especially when they are under stress or duress.
• Maintain absolute confidentiality.
• Manage multiple concurrent tasks/projects, set priorities and meet deadlines, with constant interruptions (phone and in person) and noise from the adjacent senior lounge and school cafeteria.
• Organize work, compose correspondence, and maintain records; demonstrated ability to learn a range of position-related software applications.
• Communicate effectively in English, both orally and in writing.
• Work effectively with supervision, independently, and as a part of a team.
• Excellent organizational skills and a high degree of flexibility and initiative required.
• Adaptable to the environment.
• Interact with a diverse group of faculty, staff, students, and parents required.
• Knowledge of diversity, equity and inclusion issues and in developing healthy, supportive relationships with all students.
• Strong knowledge of adolescent development.

Education, Experience, and Certifications:

Education:

• High School Diploma required.
• Bachelor's Degree strongly preferred.

Experience:

• Previous experience working in a K-12 office environment preferred.
• Customer service experience preferred.
• Significant experience composing correspondence, and maintaining records required.
• Reception and clerical experience required, preferably in an academic environment.
• Knowledge of Macintosh computers preferred.
• Proficiency using Microsoft Word and Excel required.
• Accomplished with database and learning management systems required, preferably with Google, Schoology and PowerSchool.
• Demonstrated ability to read and understand basic documentation such as Help screens required.
• Considerable experience working with students of high school age.

Pay Range:

• $19.86 - $26.32

Required Documents:

• Resume/CV
• Cover Letter 
• Professional References Contact Information (3)

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