Clerical Services ESP — 
Building a Quality Workforce

Meaningful Training = A Quality Workforce

Professional Development for Clerical Services ESP

As stated throughout this site, skills training and professional development are vital components of building a quality work-force. Professional development for Clerical Services ESP is clearly necessary and connected to enhanced student achievement. Indeed, all employees should have meaningful opportunities to be lifelong learners.

Unfortunately for many Clerical Services employees, some administrations continue to ignore the obvious. In far too many school districts, clerical services employees start their jobs with little or no assistance from administrations. Secretaries have reported that they have "trained themselves," their only orientation was "hands on," they've learned "on the job," and they only get training and assistance from others "as they work in-house." A secretary in a Kentucky school district described how she "learned her job by going through the files and discovering what to do because no one else provided any training whatsoever!" Another clerical services member described her dismay when she transferred from a Secondary School Paraeducator position to that of Elementary School Secretary and was offered no orientation, training or assistance regarding the change in her job. She was simply "expected to report to her new position and work that day as if she had been in that job forever." In many cases, the clerical services employees devise their own training programs based on immediate need and then institute these programs within their own circle of co-workers, completely independent of any supervisor assistance or even knowledge.

Far too many school officials still believe that Clerical Services ESP "just type." Very little thought is given to meaningful and career enhancing professional development programs.

Meaningful professional development for Clerical Services ESP can be defined as:

• New employee orientation programs
• In-service and off-hours skills training programs
• Career-enhancing professional development programs

Mentoring Programs

Clerical Services ESP have a challenging profession that becomes more demanding and complex every year. More responsibility is added with each new program for students or staff, and with every shift and change in our community environments. With every change, data must be gathered and recorded, records must be kept, or information must be provided. Remaining current and informed is difficult at best, and made even harder given the lack of respect and recognition by those in charge. It is therefore important for Clerical Services ESP to develop and initiate programs that provide them with support and information.

An effective method used by teachers in public schools for many years is peer mentoring. Mentoring provides a place for employees to reach out for advice, support, information and training. A mentoring program developed and established by the Local Association for clerical services professionals enhances opportunities and protection for employees and contributes to a results-oriented environment. It can also raise the attention level of administrations in order to engage them in providing ongoing training and professional development for Clerical Services ESP and all other employees in a school district.

You are the Local Expert: Local Talent/Local Training

When developing training and information programs, never overlook the special expertise already present among Clerical Services employees themselves. Most Clerical Services ESP are residents of the districts in which they work, and have special skills, abilities and connections in their communities that make them particularly valuable and relevant in local training programs. They not only understand the community and school district, they live in it, work in it, and vote in it! They are the firefighters, club members, parents, taxpayers, EMTs and local volunteers. Local leaders should be aware of their members' expertise. How many are EMTs? Which members are the volunteer firefighters? Which member is on the town council? How many speak more than one language? How many have been elected or appointed to township committees or boards? Who served in the military and has specialized training? Who volunteers at the community hospital? Who has a spouse who is a police officer, nurse, club member? Who is in the National Guard or the military reserves? Which members are in a second career track and have specialized experience from a previous job or profession? Which ones are community religious elders or leaders?

All of these members possess unique and valuable skills and can provide special resources for training and professional development programs. Special, local member expertise should be a vital component of Building a Clerical Services Quality Workforce! These individuals have the talent and should participate in the development and implementation of training. Discovering, gathering and then using all of this local talent should be an ongoing endeavor of all Local Associations in order to enhance recognition of Education Support Professionals in our public school districts