School Secretaries Deserve a Safe Covid Return Too
“Working safely may get old, but so do those who practice it.” (Unknown)
There have been a lot of mental calories burned by school leaders to provide for the safest possible return to school for students and staff. Most scenarios quite naturally involve classrooms, gymnasiums, busses, cafeterias, and other settings where social distancing will be a challenge.
But what is being done to provide school secretaries with the safest possible return? Is there any single location that has heavier traffic and crowding than the area around a secretary’s desk?
Certainly, principals have considered secretaries, however, because most were waiting for direction from their districts (who were awaiting guidance from politicians and government administration), only a few principals had actually created a plan with the office staff who will be on the front lines when students and staff return to school.
Some very generous principals and secretaries have shared their tentative plans with us. Obviously, needs will vary depending upon the location, size, and set-up of a school. That said, we’ve put together a list of proactive precautions some schools have put in place to reduce risk and maximize every opportunity to get school secretaries home safely to their loved ones this school year.
- There is protective glass installed at the front desk, like at local grocery stores, and only administrators and the two secretaries are allowed in the office for the 2020-21 school year. This isn’t forever, just one year, but we may bring the glass back during flu season or at really busy times.
- We have a hallway that runs parallel to a long counter. The hallway has been limited to a narrow lane that is 6 feet from the counter. No one is allowed behind the counter except the secretary and custodians.
- Parents are used to dropping off things like forgotten lunches, homework, and money at the office. We won't have drop-offs allowed at the front office, but haven’t completely figured out how we will handle this yet.
- It’s really common for delivery people to come into the office and drop off paper and other supplies. We have a sign telling delivery people to phone our office and someone will come out to meet them and give instructions. We think most of the smaller items will be moved into the building by our own staff and we will offer masks to delivery people who don’t have masks and need to enter the building.
- We placed footprints that are spaced six feet apart for people to stand and wait to ask a question at the office. If there are no footprints available, people can wait in our large lobby area or leave a phone number on the whiteboard and we will call them or come to see them rather than have them stand in line.
- Students often come to the office for a little TLC, bandaids, and ice packs during the day. Maybe some things will be just there for us to invite kids to take on their own, and during recesses, there will be a staff member stationed in PPE for some TLC.
- All temporary changes to protect secretaries and other staff will be explained to students, parents, and staff via several platforms: social media, newsletter, local media, student agendas, email, and video messages from the principal.
- Custodial staff will clean all surfaces and spray all phones every evening and twice during the day. No unnecessary papers or objects will be on tabletops, counters, or any surfaces that might be frequently touched in the office.
- We know a few bodies will turn into a lot of bodies, so if something needs to be signed by a staff member and submitted to the secretary, non-urgent items will be taken care of with an inbox and outbox, and urgent items will be delivered and received by office staff.
- All office staff will have color-coded pens and labeled desk tools that will only be used by that staff member.
BONUS IDEA FOR ALL STAFF ...
from Cheryl (secretary) and Shannon (principal), who synergized for a few hours this past June and have adapted an idea from a staff member who had taught in Taiwan.
All staff will wear aprons to protect from the inadvertent transmission of bodily fluids. For example, if a child sneezes, the apron is removed and washed and the staff member accesses a clean one. The aprons can also be personalized or branded to our school and used for other purposes.
