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 schoolwide passes or other systems for classrooms (bathroom charts, etc)
• Making copies of schoolwide 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).
• Logging and keeping track of keys - making sure keys are returned once employees leave. Also be sure that employee has been given an alarm code and been shown proper procedures on arming/disarming building and knows what to do in case of accidental alarm set-off.  
• Collection, accounting, and turning in to BO of all student monies- lunch, fieldwork, donations, fees, etc. for school
• Updates the Schoolwide calendar with events, birthdays, and days off for staff
• Schedules meetings with families for Deans and teachers as needed
• Supports with the scheduling of student led conferences and passage presentations
• Creates communications to share with families for school events - breakfast with books, munchies and math, celebrations of learning, student led conferences, calendar reminders, etc. 
• Coordinates food and coffee orders for professional development 
• Supports with planning and preparations to celebrate staff for teacher appreciation week and other role appreciation days (school counselor, school psychologist, etc)
• Updates student information in powerschool as needed
• Prints and coordinates the distribution of Powerschool and Hero login information for families 
• Support with the roster verification process
• Support with Title 1 designation reports
• Create a process for staff to report facility needs and coordinate repairs with Jim, Katie, and/or Citywide. Reach out to deans as needed for more complex repairs/concerns. 
• Orders covid and other medical supplies
• Triage student medical needs and corresponds with families and the school nurse as necessary
• Coordinates birthday card signings and recognition for staff birthdays 
• Coordinate winter holiday party location 
• Rainy day and cold day indoor recess communications 

Individual Front Office Responsibilities to be Divided Among the Two Associates

Each associate is expected to work with the other to be sure the front office for both schools runs smoothly. This would mean assisting each other as needed on a day to day basis, regardless of assigned duties and covering duties when your teammate is absent.

• Prepare rosters and materials needed for Fire/Tornado/Lockdown drills for school (monthly, as needed,shared). Coordinates schedules and logistics with administrators and staff.
• Facilitates the administration of breakfast and lunch records for school (daily, weekly, monthly)
• Daily tracking of student lunch & breakfast accounts
• Daily record keeping and processing of lunch money
• Monthly reporting of lunch information to the state
• Weekly balance letters sent home
• Approval/Denial mailings
• F&R application mailings
• Processes forms and keeps record for all administrator and staff leave requests for school (as needed)
• Attendance for GEMS (daily, each period)
• Tracks attendance in PowerSchool (PS) 
• GEMS requires attendance each period of the day per HB410 & GEMS attendance policy
• Be an active part of the attendance team
• Mail home letters as needed in accordance with HB410
• Facilitate bus transportation logistics for school (as needed)
• Maintains organized documentation of bus routes including times and locations
• Supports the coordination of bus transportation logistics with administrators & staffs regarding before and after school schedules
• Processes monthly Staples order for school (monthly, as needed)
• Supervises students in the gym before school begins from 8:30-8:45am
• Supervises students who are waiting to be picked up after school 4:00-5:00pm