K-8 Front Office Assistant

GEMS Front Office Associates

The Role
Front Office Associates at GEMS play a critical role in achieving our mission to provide a rigorous and engaging education while developing a strong sense of character and community among a diverse group of learners. They are the first people that students and families see upon entering the school and are key to creating a positive, welcoming atmosphere. They are critical team members who ensure that daily operations run smoothly and the basic needs of students are met so they are ready to learn.

We are looking for team members who...

Love working with kids and adults
Believe in the potential of every learner
Have exceptional project management and organizational skills, and attention to detail
Are effective communicators
Take initiative with an orientation to learning and problem solving
Have Outstanding judgment, discretion, and ethical standards
Are enthusiastic about working with diverse communities and stakeholders

Shared Daily Responsibilities
Visitors & Student sign in and sign out
Create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for visitors and students as they arrive and leave the building
When visitors arrive, be sure that they come to the office and sign in.
Give the visitor a sticker to show that they have checked in at the office.
If they are picking up a student, check that they are on the approved list for pick up.
When students arrive late, sign them in and give them a pass. Add them to the daily attendance spreadsheet.
When students leave early, sign them out. Add them to the daily attendance spreadsheet.

Supply, Paper, and Office Organization
Walk through the building in the morning, check copiers, toner, see if wireless is working etc. Is the building ready for the day?
Make sure that backup ink, toner, and staples are always on hand in the event a printer/copier runs out. Change ink/toner/staples when needed.
Take note of the level of common supplies and order proactively (white and colored paper, pencils, post-its, whiteboard markers, chart paper, etc).
When orders arrive, break down the boxes and deliver supplies to teachers as needed. For general supplies, place them in the appropriate locations in the supply closet.
When paper arrives, stack it in the hallway near the copy machine. Unbox at least 20 reams of paper to have out of the boxes for easy use by teachers. Check on the stock of unboxed reams of paper and unbox to ensure there is a supply ready for teachers to use.
Keep all spaces within the office organized and clean

Mail and Packages
Sort mail into mailboxes upon arrival
Deliver packages to teachers upon arrival or message if too large or heavy to be picked up before the end of the day
If bulk mail is not able to be delivered upon completion of posting/addressing, make plan with admins to deliver to the PO

Hallway Monitoring
Be aware of visitors in the building and make sure they have signed in/have a nametag
Be aware of students in the hallway and contact the appropriate teacher(s) if they are not where they should be help direct them in a trauma-informed manner (calm, assumes best intentions, focuses first on the needs of the student, positive, uses an emotionally neutral tone when redirecting students

Medicine & Recovery Room Coordination
Follow medicine protocols including documentation
Maintain up to date medical supplies in office
Follow Recovery Room Operations procedure for sick students during the school day
Create a list of important medical information for students in each grade to share with teachers (ex, peanut allergies, needs to come to office default for x medication, etc)

Communication with Staff
Send a google chat to the K-4 or 5-8 chat when you receive a student and when you send them back to class.
To minimize interruptions to instruction, If a student is being picked up during the day "call" for them via the chat or go to the student's classroom to notify them that they are going home. Do not use the PA system unless it is an emergency.
Use gchat or email for questions or updates to teachers.

Communication with Deans
Use resources to look up information that has been shared before asking Deans
For non-urgent/timely questions, email questions that you are unable to answer
For urgent/timely questions, text or call dean(s)

Other Shared Front Office Responsibilities
Answer phones & change, check voicemail (snow days as well)
Assist with mailing discipline letters for school, if you create and mail the letter you will also be responsible for logging the discipline in PS and Hero.
Assist with making discipline calls home in cases of Emergency Removal
Assist Registrar w/phone calls, mailings, paperwork, etc
Create and distribute school wide passes or other systems for classrooms (bathroom charts, etc)
Making copies of school wide documents - including, but not limited to, gratitude graham, announcements, documents to send home with an individual student, etc)
Coordinates logistics for all mailings for school (interim and report cards, Special Education progress reports, etc).
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