Saturday, July 30, 2022

How it's going

 Happy Saturday, all! 

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on my last post. I've been wanting to respond to them all individually, but this week has been extremely busy, and I'm just plain worn out! Know that I read and appreciated every single one of them. 

Work has been okay. Except for physically going into the same building each morning, I feel like I have a completely new job. Well, I suppose I do. After five years of being the receptionist, the first point of contact for everyone coming into the school and surrounded by people all day, every day, now I'm tucked away in the back by myself with totally different responsibilities. My new job title is Attendance and Records Clerk. Both of those things (attendance and records) are enough to be a whole job in themselves, but I'm used to having a large workload. At least now I can work all day without interruptions, which should really lower my stress level once I'm fully trained and know what I'm doing. 

No one besides me (and occasionally, the guidance counselors) is even allowed in the room with students' permanent records now. Things had devolved last year into kind of a free-for-all where teachers and other staff just came and went in there whenever they felt like it or needed something from a file. This is a major breach of confidentiality and actually illegal under SC state law! I spent the last two days this week beginning an audit of every single record, and they're an absolute mess. I only got as far as finishing the sixth grade, so it's going to take at least two (maybe three) more days of work to complete the audit. That's not counting the work it will take to resolve the problems I'm noting.  All told, we have about 800 students enrolled this year, so you can imagine what size job I'm talking about.

I'm also newly in charge of record requests. Scanning records and sending them out to other schools via email isn't that hard, but it is time consuming. The same goes with requesting the records for students new to our school. Since it's the beginning of the year, we're inundated with requests right now and I have a huge pile of them to take care of next week. Thank goodness they'll slow down to a trickle after the first few weeks. Or so I'm told.

The students come back on Monday, so in addition to the stuff I've already mentioned, my role as the attendance person will begin. There's a lot of record keeping involved in that, too. Mountains of it, in fact. Some of it I'm already familiar with, but most of it is new to me, too.

It's all kind of a lot.

The first part of the week I felt completely overwhelmed. As busy and stressful as my previous role was, after five years at it at least I knew what I was doing! There's a certain comfort in that. Now everything is new to me, and I have a lot to learn, and it's all stuff that's important to get right. I want to do a good job, and I plan to try hard. If nothing else, I'll gain really valuable skills for transferring to another school (or even the district office) down the road if I decide I want to. The principal has been very nice to me and has had nothing but good and encouraging things to say so far. She asked the head of the records department at the district office to come spend a day training me, and that was really helpful. I'm still wary of trusting her too much, but so far, so good.

So, I survived week one. I've been really tired and I expect that to continue for the next few weeks, but after that everything should settle down. And can you believe it's almost August already?




30 comments:

  1. I'm sure you'll be juggling your new duties like an expert in no time! You sound like the ideal person to do that job. You're right, confidentiality is critical and must not be undermined by people casually browsing through the students' files!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, to be honest, the staff was forced to work on files back in May since we had no principal and everything was in chaos. Several of then mentioned how uncomfortable they had been with it, but they were trying their best to finish out the school year with zero leadership or direction. Things are getting back on track now!

      Delete
  2. You survived that first hectic week in your new job, hurray. Of course we knew you would, that is good the principal is supportive of you. Like you said, it is always good to learn new skills to add to your CV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got your pretty postcard and it's displayed in my office! Thank you!

      Delete
  3. You will be great at this job! I remember years ago when I worked in a school library, we were the ones who took the messages from the attendance call in line so we could notify teachers of who would be absent. Gosh, there were some hilarious excuses for keeping children home and often too much information (TMI!) about some illness they had. I imagine that is done by computer these days? Or do you still get the phone messages...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, we don't get those kind of phone messages and everything is done on the computer these days. It's far more involved than I remember it being when I was in school!

      Delete
  4. Where do you teach? You don’t have to name the school…the city? I am retired educator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I lived there…loved it…I taught in Lake City Schools and then moved to Marlboro High in an apartment there because it was my first year and didn’t like junior high…they called me back to LCHS for high school…you would love those kids…the Superintendent Lake City was a lady I taught with…adored her…good luck…

      Delete
  5. So, you're in a more confidential position. Good. Confidentiality is not a word lightly bandied about in education.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I can make it through this year I'll have nee skills that will be very valuable in the future.

      Delete
  6. Sorry it’s been overwhelming. New jobs always are, aren’t they? But glad the first week has gone better than expected. Glad the principal is being pleasant, supportive, and professional. Hope there comes a time where you feel you can trust her. Hugs to the pups... and Marco.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So pleased to hear that you have had a good, if busy , first week. It can only get better as you learn your new job.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yep, 1st of August tomorrow - Yorkshire Day, by the way :-D
    It does indeed sound like a LOT of work, but I know you'll get the hang of it soon, and as you say, at least you can do it without being interrupted all the time, and you are a good worker, not afraid of hard work.
    The principal may (or may not) have realised how badly she's treated you before. Still, the thing about the aquarium rankles even with me, and I am not personally involved!
    The confidentiality/privacy/data protection part of your work interests me, of course, since it is how I make my living. When you send or receive students records by email, do they have to be encrypted? They would have to under European regulations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm still wary of her, Meike. I can't help it, and she'll have to prove to me that she can be trusted. Still, it's better so far than I dared hope. We shall see. No encryption, but our district email accounts are very secure and constantly monitored for security issues.

      Delete
  9. Does your new office have a window that lets natural light inside and allows you to look out winsomely two or three times a day? I hope so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, there are no windows in my office, nor in the records room. I'm considering getting a lamp with full spectrum light so I can grow some plants, though.

      Delete
  10. The idea of having a secure space is very nice. If things start getting stressful, you have a retreat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly! A place to retreat to will be nice.

      Delete
  11. I'm so relieved things went relatively smoothly for you on the first week. It sounds like a big job but I have a feeling you'll master it shortly. One big pay off is that your specialized knowledge will make you indispensable to administration, (a little leverage is always nice.) Your resume will also look pretty stellar should you decide to move elsewhere. It's unfortunate you don't have a window in your office but I'm sure you'll make it a welcoming place with grow lights and plants.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Congrats on new position. You are so right about the importance of school record keeping (esp confidentiality). When several of my then school-aged children transferred to new school when we move (yikes, almost 30 years ago), the records that were transferred from their old schools were abysmal--not to mention weeks late even though I'd asked for them two months before school started. One child had an IEP plan, but when the new school got his records, the folder was practically empty--no IEP info at all--which probably tells you how much help the previous school had been and the main reason we moved. The new school had to completely re-test him to know how to move forward and help him--and they did. Thankfully, the new schools were top notch. So yes, you have an important job and clearly, you recognize it. They are lucky to have you in that position. Best of luck with everything.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sounds like the job is an excellent match for you. Do you have to use a flatbed scanner, or do you have one you can just load a stack of papers into? Those are so much faster. I had a volunteer job with a HR at a local non-profit which involved a lot of scanning AND confidentiality, so I appreciate what you are doing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Learning a new job is extremely stressful but it sounds like you're making a lot of progress. Attendance and records, wow. I hope it goes OK when the kids come back.

    ReplyDelete
  15. and you do all this with out getting facedown drunk...good girl.

    ReplyDelete