All three schools get new secretaries - the 'face of the district'

Perhaps no school staff member has as much contact with parents and the public as do secretaries. And the public and parents have three new secretaries to get to know as the school year starts Thursday.

As of last week, all three secretary positions at the elementary, middle and high school were filled after resignations at the end of last school year left the crucial roles open.

Kendra McDougall, Jennifer Stewart and Marsha McCay have been hired as the secretaries of Evergreen Elementary, Stikine Middle and Wrangell High schools, respectively. None of the new hires have been school secretaries before, but they all are parents and believe there is one important aspect to their role in the schools: Communication.

"I love being a parent and a secretary because, as a parent, I'm aware of what my questions are for the school. As a secretary, I'm able to put that into practice," McDougall said. "I do want to be a central pillar of communication to the community. I want to answer questions. I want to know the school and its policies in depth so I can be somebody people can come to, to ask questions."

Stewart echoed that sentiment. "Even though I may not have all the answers, I can definitely find out," she said. "I don't want parents to think, 'Well, they don't know anything.' Call us. Ask us. I want that open line of communication. Any concerns, questions, anything we can do to help them."

The three secretaries have been asking plenty of questions themselves to become acclimated with their jobs, working with veteran staff members as well as other new hires such as new principals Bob Burkhart and Ann Hilburn. Burkhart began his role as principal of the high school and middle school earlier this month as did Hilburn who is principal of the elementary school.

Burkhart recognizes the importance of the secretary position at each school.

"These folks are critical to the positive functioning of all our schools," he said. "They are the face of the district and their individual schools. They facilitate the smooth functioning of the school and are the oil of operation on a daily basis."

Outside of the usual duties, such as recordkeeping, attendance and community communication, Burkhart said secretaries are planners, counselors and encouragers. "They make so many important decisions ... that allow admin folks to spend time and energy on the other responsibilities of having a good school," he said.

Each secretary has her own reasons for taking on the new role. For McCay, it was a natural move from being a secretary at Silver Bay Seafoods in Sitka, but she took the job to give back.

"I went to Wrangell High School, so I thought it would be a good fit to help and to give back to the community that raised me," she said.

McDougall loves to help people, but she also wanted a job that would fit with daughter Ellie Silva's educational experience.

"My daughter is going into first grade, so I wanted something that kind of aligned with her schedule," she said. Though it's a good fit and will keep her close to her daughter during the day, McDougall joked about Ellie being sent to the principal's office. "Hopefully she's not in trouble too much," she said with a laugh.

Stewart previously worked in the district office in accounting. She said she wanted something, like McDougall, that would align with her children's schedules.

"I have four kids in the school system," she said. "Not only did I want more time with them in the summer, I wanted to be a little more interactive with the staff and the kids. I felt like it was a better fit for me."

Stewart's children are in first, fourth, 10th and 12th grades. With her transfer to the middle school, Stewart leaves the accounting position open, though she will work between the school and the district office until a more permanent employee can be found for the accounting job.

All three have been working closely with other staff to get familiar with the daily workflow, but they've also found help in each other.

"I think it's nice that we're all in a position where we're all new because we can turn to each other," McDougall said. "I've called Marsha several times."

"It's like a support group," McCay said.

The main goal each secretary has is to provide a familiar face, consistency for students and to help them achieve their goals.

"School is huge. Education is so important. You want to help them succeed and make it as fun as possible," McDougall said. "It's miserable at school and at home as a parent if your child hates school. Just to see them succeed and get excited about something and do well, I think that's the goal for any kid."

Each one is excited for the year to come, acknowledging that they will be challenges, but that it will be fun.

"I think it will be a good year," McCay said. "Everybody will get to learn a lot of new things. New faces bring more ideas, new ideas to help progress things. You get to move into different directions and different opportunities."