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Post by workingclassdog on Aug 13, 2015 3:14:02 GMT
Holy hell, it's sure does take a freaking village to run a school. I had NO IDEA what happened behind the scenes. I am exhausted and still two weeks before school starts. The freaking phone calls. Our school is 900+ kids. I think each parent calls thinks they are the only one that calls. I get to hear life stories all day long while trying to enroll and withdraw all these kids. Yes I love to visit and chat.. but I think I spend more than half the day answering the same three questions and hearing stories. I LOVE my job and I LOVE the parents, but honestly..... I got a job to do... LOL "Am I still on the waiting list?" Yes, for the third time this week, you are still on the waiting list and no 20 people are not going to drop off before school starts. AND if by chance they do, I will be calling. "What teacher does Johnny have?" When we post the list you will be the first to know as we will send out a dialer to let you know. Please do not call us and ask. It's posted on the doors. We can't possibly take 900 calls and tell you what teacher you are going to have and then yell at us because you didn't get Ms. Smith because as you know EVERYONE wants Ms. Smith. "How much will it take to move Johnny to the first spot on the waiting list?" Sir, right now I would make twice as much as the Principal if I took all the bribes. Now please fetch me a Starbucks and I might think about it. "I am not sending my kid to a school that is across the street from the prison.. how do I avoid that?" Sorry sir, that isn't our school, I can't tell you what to do about that situation, other than criminals usually try to run as far away as possible and don't stop at the school. You still will have to go on our waiting list. "My best friend's nephew got in, can't my kid get in?" No. Seriously though... God has blessed me. I love it. I love the stupid calls. I love the parents that come in and try anything to get in our school. We have an awesome school. Just give me five minutes just to complete one task though....  |
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Post by ~KellyAnn~ on Aug 13, 2015 3:19:34 GMT
Enjoy your new position! Brings back memories when I was an attendance secretary for a high school of 1700. Loved that job, the students and staff. Beginning of the school year was always the worst, though.
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Post by workingclassdog on Aug 13, 2015 3:20:21 GMT
Oh I can't imagine having more students.. although we are adding about 400 new kids next year. Hopefully we might be able to add another office gal.
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Post by bebe on Aug 13, 2015 3:25:23 GMT
I work in our school system's Transportation office--we always laugh and say we are collecting comments and questions for a book. It's wonderful and trying to work in a school system, but I will say it's also where I have heard some of the funniest things ever said!!
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 13, 2015 3:41:53 GMT
Oh my gosh, the two ladies that work at my elementary school's front office are just amazing. Most of the time it is water off a duck's back. Parents are crazy sometimes. What I love the most is when school is in session and the phone is ringing and parents are all lined up to check their kids out 15 minutes early (every day) so they can avoid the traffic and the kiddos from our Level 4 program come up for whatever reason. These are the kids with severe needs (physical). When they walk or are wheeled into the front office it is like the Queen herself has arrived. Each kiddo is greeted and fawned over and they get what they need. Then the office returns to its normal craziness. These ladies are just heaven sent.
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Post by gorgeouskid on Aug 13, 2015 3:48:36 GMT
I helped out at summer school, and I can't imagine how our office staff gets ANYthing done. The phone is always ringing, mostly with inane questions.
Best of luck!
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Post by renateb on Aug 13, 2015 3:56:53 GMT
omg I think I could have wrote that post! (but I'm dealing with just over 200 kids so not as crazy). The calls about wait list just keep coming. I'm afraid to send the teacher assignment information out because the phone will go crazy. Just went in tonight to give a tour and register a student. My favorite requests are "can child AAA be in the same class as XXX." Sounds simple until XXX wants to be in the same class as YYY and YYY's mom and AAA's mom don't get a long and don't want their children in the same class.
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Post by liya on Aug 13, 2015 13:38:42 GMT
Your post made me smile this morning. I am glad you are enjoying your new job.
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Post by Susie_Homemaker on Aug 13, 2015 13:59:58 GMT
 Funny post! I can just imagine the craziness of that many parents and students. Sounds like a great job if you can deal with it- and it sounds like you can!
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keithurbanlovinpea
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Flowing with the go...
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Aug 13, 2015 14:54:23 GMT
Oh my gosh, the two ladies that work at my elementary school's front office are just amazing. Most of the time it is water off a duck's back. Parents are crazy sometimes. What I love the most is when school is in session and the phone is ringing and parents are all lined up to check their kids out 15 minutes early (every day) so they can avoid the traffic and the kiddos from our Level 4 program come up for whatever reason. These are the kids with severe needs (physical). When they walk or are wheeled into the front office it is like the Queen herself has arrived. Each kiddo is greeted and fawned over and they get what they need. Then the office returns to its normal craziness. These ladies are just heaven sent. Our schools do not allow early check outs within 20 minutes of school ending. It is a God-send! |
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georgiapea
Drama Llama
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Post by georgiapea on Aug 13, 2015 15:06:22 GMT
I enjoyed reading about what your days are like. The phone calls would tax anyone's patience but just reading about them was funny. I hope once school starts you get fewer calls. But probably they will be 9 zillion parents wanting to switch their child's classes to other teachers.
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MerryMom
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Post by MerryMom on Aug 13, 2015 15:06:52 GMT
Why doesn't the school have a message play that answers common questions before the call gets routed through to the office?
In order to reduce the volume of phone calls so that the staff can prepare for the start of school, please listen to the answers to commonly asked questions.
If you are wanting to know if your child is still on the waiting list for a specific class, if someone ahead of your child drops the class, you will be notified in the order of the waiting list.
If you want to know if your child can be moved up on the waiting list, the answer is no, there is no mechanism for moving anyone up on the list.
If want to know what teacher your child has, the list will be posted on the school doors and you will receive the dialer notification.
etc.
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breetheflea
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Post by breetheflea on Aug 13, 2015 15:09:14 GMT
I think that is why our school secretary keeps the day she is going back to work for the year a secret. Except they posted it on the reader board outside this year... I bet she was thrilled  |
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Peamac
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Post by Peamac on Aug 13, 2015 15:15:59 GMT
OP- You'd think the school would record a message answering those three main concerns so that when the parents call, they hear the recording before your phone even rings. That would save you a lot of time!
ETA~ Never mind- MerryMom beat me to it!
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Post by mommaho on Aug 13, 2015 15:22:15 GMT
I remember those days well! I used to work in a K-4 Building for 11 years as the Secretary/Registrar/Nurse and whatever else needed to be done. I loved every minute of it! Congrats on your job!
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Post by cbet on Aug 13, 2015 15:58:02 GMT
Why doesn't the school have a message play that answers common questions before the call gets routed through to the office? In order to reduce the volume of phone calls so that the staff can prepare for the start of school, please listen to the answers to commonly asked questions. If you are wanting to know if your child is still on the waiting list for a specific class, if someone ahead of your child drops the class, you will be notified in the order of the waiting list. If you want to know if your child can be moved up on the waiting list, the answer is no, there is no mechanism for moving anyone up on the list. If want to know what teacher your child has, the list will be posted on the school doors and you will receive the dialer notification. etc. I don't work at a school, but after years of answering phones at other businesses, I can answer this one! Because everyone who calls doesn't think those answers apply to them - surely there must be some way of moving up the list, surely you must be able to tell me NOW which teacher my child will have, perhaps I missed the notification that we moved up the waiting list . . . I'm not trying to imply these people are evil or that they think their children are special snowflakes. It's human nature to not trust a recorded message when you can talk to a real person! (Worked in a call center for a catalog company for a while - even though people were able to check their order status online or use an auto-attendant phone line with no call queue, they would hold for 10-15 minutes to get a real person, thinking somehow that the real person had magical access to info the website and auto-attendant didn't, even though all 3 got their info from the same computer system.) |
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 13, 2015 17:24:13 GMT
I work in our school system's Transportation office--we always laugh and say we are collecting comments and questions for a book. It's wonderful and trying to work in a school system, but I will say it's also where I have heard some of the funniest things ever said!! Oh I bet your job is a barrel of laughs at the beginning of the school year.  I remember the year when our high school bus (for this route I mean) was SO overcrowded kids could hardly get on the bus. Which isn't allowed anyway (for it to be that crowded) so the new bus driver just started leaving kids behind. um... With no one ever coming back to get them. oy... You can bet that your counterparts in our transportation office got several earfuls from all the parents. OP, it was funny to read and I'm glad you're liking your job. I imagine though that some days you come home and really need a good restorative. |
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Post by cannmom on Aug 13, 2015 20:01:04 GMT
I went into DS's school to pay his fees and the school secretary was on the phone while I was there. Her side of the conversation was hilarious. " Did you not get the letter we sent out with that information? No, that's funny none of the letters were returned undeliverable. " She answered their questions and when she got off the phone I rather sheepishly told her " I got my letter.". She laughed and said people have no idea the time that goes into sending out those letters and pay absolutely no attention to them. I can not imagine having that job. I'm sure the beginning of the year is especially crazy.
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Post by maryland on Aug 13, 2015 21:21:27 GMT
Your post made me laugh! Not at you, at the silly questions parents ask. It must be so frustrating this time of year with all the crazy calls! At least you love your job in general. You must come home with some "funny" stories. I hope your school year goes well.
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Post by stargazer on Aug 13, 2015 21:54:00 GMT
I nearly always get a chuckle listening to the school side of those conversations when I walk through our school office. Then I make a special note to bring more chocolate for the ladies who work there because I know I couldn't do their jobs.
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Post by snappinsami on Aug 13, 2015 22:04:24 GMT
You have both my pity and utmost respect. It's great to see you finding the humor in it all!
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Nicole in TX
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Post by Nicole in TX on Aug 13, 2015 22:47:14 GMT
Our central administration is always talking about cutting back on office staff. I wonder if any of them have ever sat in a school office for a morning to watch what those ladies do.
They don't have a minute of down time most days and they do it with a smile.
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CeeScraps
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Post by CeeScraps on Aug 13, 2015 22:58:38 GMT
Oh just wait......you won't believe what the parents call for, request...show up and do/request.
Yes, and I bet you can't wait to see the clothing that some come into the building wearing.......can you say....jammies.....
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lesley
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Post by lesley on Aug 13, 2015 23:45:45 GMT
Yes, and I bet you can't wait to see the clothing that some come into the building wearing.......can you say....jammies..... We had a very 'old school' head teacher at my kids' primary school, and one day she sent home a parent who had come in for a meeting wearing jammies and slippers! She told her she would speak to her once she was properly dressed.  |
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Post by mrsscrapdiva on Aug 14, 2015 12:47:13 GMT
I have worked in customer service and also help desk for internal issues at an insurance company. Yes, these were the best.
me: "What is the make and model of the computer you are using?"
employee: "I don't know...it is beige"
That is great though that you have a job that you love!
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Deleted
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Oct 6, 2024 4:30:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2015 14:17:19 GMT
When my kids were in elementary school, one of the two school secretaries' husband was going through very difficult cancer treatments. People volunteered to take shifts for her so she could be with her husband. Unfortunately, I took one of those shifts -- I was so exhausted at the end of it. I couldn't keep anything straight, couldn't understand the stupid speakers from the classrooms, and made a few messups. But most of all, I found out what an incredible bitch the principal was to the employees.
Hats off to school secretaries -- what a hard job. It takes a special person to handle that one.
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Post by mommaho on Aug 14, 2015 14:34:32 GMT
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Post by workingclassdog on Aug 15, 2015 1:39:54 GMT
Thanks for sharing your stories... I would say a lot of people think our principal is a bitch as well. But holy hell you would almost have to be. I would HATE that position. You got people coming at you at all directions.. parents, teachers, other staff, (in our case) Board of Directors, construction people (we are expanding)... You couldn't pay me enough to be in that position in a million years.
I could be rich from all the bribes though.. seriously people are serious about bribing me. I almost just want to put out a tip jar and see what would happen. One dad came in just a couple of days ago to check on the list. He says. OKAY what does it take to get my daughter in? My wife will volunteer 200 hours of work. I told him sorry. Then he goes what about a million dollars. I said YOUR KID just made it in...I actually told him if he bought or rented a house in the neighborhood his daughter would be on top of the list. (Our charter is in a neighborhood where they get first in before any other kids)... They actually left to find a house.
I love sharing the stories... I have a doozy I should post soon.. "I flipped off the principal and got away with it." This story is GREAT....
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 15, 2015 1:52:22 GMT
Thanks for sharing your stories... I would say a lot of people think our principal is a bitch as well. But holy hell you would almost have to be. I would HATE that position. You got people coming at you at all directions.. parents, teachers, other staff, (in our case) Board of Directors, construction people (we are expanding)... You couldn't pay me enough to be in that position in a million years. I could be rich from all the bribes though.. seriously people are serious about bribing me. I almost just want to put out a tip jar and see what would happen. One dad came in just a couple of days ago to check on the list. He says. OKAY what does it take to get my daughter in? My wife will volunteer 200 hours of work. I told him sorry. Then he goes what about a million dollars. I said YOUR KID just made it in...I actually told him if he bought or rented a house in the neighborhood his daughter would be on top of the list. (Our charter is in a neighborhood where they get first in before any other kids)... They actually left to find a house. I love sharing the stories... I have a doozy I should post soon.. "I flipped off the principal and got away with it." This story is GREAT.... Definitely post the story! I love school stories. And I agree about the job of principal... omg.  I do a lot of subbing in the school where my kids went to elementary and I'm seeing so much more now than I ever did as a parent, even as an involved parent. We have one of those notorious (as most of them are) "kiss and drop" lanes for drop-off and pick-up. The principal often goes out there to direct traffic because we do have our share of "those" parents. ugh. One woman actually flipped off the principal, with her kids in the car! And one of the kids was well-known around the school for his rudeness. No kidding...that apple didn't fall far from the tree, with a mother like that. |
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Post by workingclassdog on Aug 15, 2015 4:14:00 GMT
OMG monklady... that is crazy. When I first started as a Para I had to help with crosswalk duty.. yep lots of flippers and downright rudeness. Usually the parents that were always late dropping off their precious cargo. And what was funny these kiddos get out of the car and 1/2 the trash falls out of the car with them. LOL....
I will post my story with the Principal soon... Gotta get to bed.. as DH is volunteering to put 100 new desks together over the weekend. I might as well take advantage of quite time and get some of my stuff done.
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Funny post! I can just imagine the craziness of that many parents and students. Sounds like a great job if you can deal with it- and it sounds like you can!
I remember the year when our high school bus (for this route I mean) was SO overcrowded kids could hardly get on the bus. Which isn't allowed anyway (for it to be that crowded) so the new bus driver just started leaving kids behind. um... With no one ever coming back to get them. oy... You can bet that your counterparts in our transportation office got several earfuls from all the parents. 
Time to get off the internet!
I do a lot of subbing in the school where my kids went to elementary and I'm seeing so much more now than I ever did as a parent, even as an involved parent. We have one of those notorious (as most of them are) "kiss and drop" lanes for drop-off and pick-up. The principal often goes out there to direct traffic because we do have our share of "those" parents. ugh. One woman actually flipped off the principal, with her kids in the car! And one of the kids was well-known around the school for his rudeness. No kidding...that apple didn't fall far from the tree, with a mother like that.