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Student Office Handbook
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HANDBOOK FOR OFFICE ASSISTANTS
Written by ReVae Colatorti, Patricia King & Deborah Saunders
Welcome! This booklet was designed to help you do your job as an
Office TA. We hope it will answer some of the questions you have
and that you will refer to it from time to time.
You were chosen for this job because you met certain requirements. These requirements apply throughout the year. If at any time you fail to meet the minimum standard, you may be removed from your job as T.A.
Requirements:
8th Grade Student
2.0 GPA or better
No “F”s on report card
No “Disruptive Classroom Behavior”on report card,
referrals, or behavior concerns.
Show maturity and responsibility
GENERAL OFFICE
MANNERS AND GUIDELINES
1. Greet all visitors with a smile when they come
into the office.
2. Say, “How can I help you?”
3. Be polite at all times.
4. If you can’t answer a question, tell the person you will
find out the answer, and then find an adult who can help.
5. Office T.A.’s must set a good example and follow all school
rules, including the dress code. NO GUM, HATS, or eating in the
office. Do NOT slouch or put your feet up on the chairs.
6. Do NOT talk to students who may be in the office on a referral
or detention.
7. If you must interrupt an adult conversation do so politely by
saying, “Excuse me.”
8. All work, records and conversations in the office are CONFIDENTIAL.
You must not share any information with other students or friends.
9. Personal phone calls are not allowed.
ORDER OF RESPONSIBILITY
1. Greet people as they enter the office.
2. Answer telephones.
3. Pick up attendance scanners.
4. Sort, scan, and file attendance scanners.
5. Make hall passes to class for students.
6. Make early leave passes.
7. Fill out homework requests and distribute to teachers’
boxes.
8. Deliver office mail.
9. Other duties as required.
TELEPHONE PROCEDURES
Answering the telephone is one of the most important jobs in the
office. You can save a lot of time and trouble for all of us if
you get the information correctly before passing it on.
1. Answer the phone promptly by saying, “El
Dorado Middle School, student speaking.” Speak slowly, clearly
and politely.
2. Have the message pad and a pen ready. If a person asks for any
administrator or office staff, say: “I will see if he/she
is available, may I tell him/her who is calling?” Write down
the name, and if they tell you why they are calling, also make a
note of that.
3. All of Mrs. Weil’s calls are taken by Mrs. Saunders. Tell
her that there is a call for Mrs. Weil. If Mrs. Saunders is busy,
let Mrs. Colatorti know.
4. You may tell Mrs. Laufer and Mr. Nattkemper that there is a call
for them. A closed door means “DO NOT DISTURB.” Go back
to the phone and tell the person the administrator is not available
and take a message. Use the message pad at all times! Repeat the
phone number back to see that you took it down correctly. It is
perfectly fine to ask the caller to spell his/her name. We are interested
here in accuracy, not speed.
5. If the call is for a teacher, check the master schedule to see
if the teacher is having a prep period. If so, you may transfer
the call to the classroom. If not, tell the caller that the teacher
is not available to come to the phone. You can tell them when the
teacher has a prep period. Offer them the voice mail number so that
they can leave a personal message. If the caller identifies himself/herself
as a family member, ask one of the office staff to take the call.
6. Office T.A.’s may not take calls for students. Ask one
of the office staff to take the call.
7. It is very important that you not give out any information about
students on the phone. That includes phone numbers and addresses.
Those types of calls are directed to Mrs. King.
Mrs. Saunders, the Office Manager, handles all calls if the caller says it is urgent that they speak to an administrator, and you cannot interrupt them. She handles ALL CALLS for Mrs. Weil. She also takes all calls concerning medications for students, angry callers, people who ask to speak to an adult, use permits of campus facilities, or campus events you cannot answer.
Mrs. King, the Attendance Secretary, handles all calls concerning attendance, including tardies, student records, immunizations, or calls from other schools about students.
Mrs. Colatorti, the Office Secretary, handles all
calls concerning grades, and all office machines. She can usually
take calls for all other matters if Mrs. Saunders and Mrs. King
are busy.
OFFICE PROCEDURES
1. Promptly begin your daily assigned job. Sometimes
you will be instructed to do a different task first. If Mrs. Saunders
or Mrs. Colatorti asks for your help, it is okay to tell them what
you are working on. Ask in what order you are to proceed.
2. Greet parents, teachers, visitors and students to our school
when they come in. All students must sign in on the Student Sign-in
sheet. Visitors who ask to go to classrooms must see an adult first.
They must also sign in and received a visitor’s badge.
3. Always tell Mrs. King when you are leaving the office and where
you are going. You may be asked by Mrs. Weil, Mrs. Laufer or Mr.
Nattkemper to do a specific task such as delivering a note or going
to get a student from a classroom. These requests are a priority;
please do them quickly and willingly.
4. Do not linger in the corridors or disrupt classes. When entering
classrooms please do so quietly, so as not to interrupt the teachers
or students. Do not talk with students in the class. Do not stop
to talk in the corridors.
5. At the end of the period, if some work was not completed, please
let Mrs. King know. She can tell the TA’s the next period
to complete the job.
6. Do not discuss any confidential material with anyone.
7. Ill students need to be directed to Mrs. King. Let Mrs. Saunders
know if an injured student comes in. Direct all of these students
to the nurse’s office.
GRADING POLICY
We treat your job here as important. You are learning
responsibility and skills that will help you in the future.
Your grade as an Office TA will be based on the following criteria:
1. Comes to office on time, prepared to work.
2. Begins assigned work when the period begins.
3. When assignments are completed, asks for any other office work
which needs to be done.
4. Is able to work without direct supervision.
5. Has good attendance.
6. Runs errands to classrooms quickly and efficiently.
7. Answers phones promptly as required.
8. Maintains complete CONFIDENTIALITY, both in and out of the office.
9. Does not visit with fellow aides or students in the office.
Grading:
A= Meets all criteria listed
B= Displays above average work in the office. Meets most of the
criteria, but could improve.
C= Maintains average work in office. Needs improvement.
D= Below average work. Needs much improvement. Any student receiving
a D will have one quarter to show marked improvement, or will be
removed from the job.
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