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Job Title: Staff Assistant
Type of Company: I work for the school district in a large city.
Education: BBA, Finance and Operations Management, UMass-Amherst
Previous Experience: I worked as a Business Analyst at Government Consulting Firm before working in the school system. Previously, I worked as a marking assistant at a small Marketing firm and a Publishing Assistant at a medium size Publishing firm.
Job Tasks: I work for the Department of Early Childhood where I help roll out our quality kindergarten programs for the district. This includes grant writing, strategic planning and budgeting. In addition, we provide quality professional development for all kindergarten teachers.
Grant writing is very important in this industry as there are a lot of funds available federally to ensure that all the programming you produce has the monetary backing to be developed. Also, I am funded by a grant so therefore in essence, I wrote my way into a job.
In addition, there are a lot planning that goes into a kindergarten classroom. You must work with facilities, principals, and human resources to ensure that the facilities are child friendly, principals are there to support family and children enrolling and human resources to ensure that high quality teachers are being hired.
Lastly professional development for teachers is important as they ensure that teachers tweak their teaching style and improve. There is also a lot of administrative busy work. For example: To hire a consultant for professional development, it takes up to three months as I need to have the dollars, contract and superintendent and mayoral approval. Sometimes, my day consist of chasing down a person for a signature.
Best and Worst Parts of the Job: Best: The people. Worst: The bureaucracy. Overall I love my job and that's the key. I feel like sometimes if you focus on one positive-- the negatives will just lurk around the corner. I love the people and sometimes I have to embrace the bureaucracy. It's very love/hate. In the end, you realize there is a fine line between love/hate.
Job Tips: Be patient. Early Childhood is a growing field. Just because your title does not reflect the job that you do-- your tasks more important than your title. Satisfaction with your peers and your job is key. Because of all the administrative paperwork-- many of the older workers who have been in the "system" for a long time give you a hard time. However, it is best to take it in strive and laugh with them.
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