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What does a school secretary do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

A school secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the school's operations and helping the management to develop strategies and techniques to ensure that the students receive the highest quality of learning. School secretaries manage the data management system of the institution, record students' and staff information, and assist with payroll release. They also serve as a liaison between the staff, students, and the management for any inquiries, concerns, and complaints.

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School secretary responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real school secretary resumes:

  • Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
  • Coordinate department payroll, electronic share files, and general office operations.
  • Compose all correspondence and prepare presentations via PowerPoint.
  • Create PowerPoint presentations used for teachers professional development.
  • Perform all secretarial duties including attendance, payroll reports and conference arrangements/billing.
  • Prepare discharges, enter all updates into OASAS system and review patient information to verify patients eligibility to receive transportation reimbursement.
  • Initiate and monitor requisitions through PeopleSoft for office supplies, laboratory supplies including purchasing lab animals for research and travel reimbursement.

School secretary skills and personality traits

We calculated that 12% of School Secretaries are proficient in Word Processing, Payroll, and Math. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.

We break down the percentage of School Secretaries that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Word Processing, 12%

    Created Program Filing System Data Entry Word Processing Maintained Confidential Records

  • Payroll, 12%

    Coordinated department payroll, electronic shared files, and general office operations.

  • Math, 7%

    Assisted elementary teachers with students in grades 2 - 5 that required additional instruction in math and reading.

  • Purchase Orders, 7%

    Maintained school-wide supply system from initializing requests to distribution via purchase orders.

  • Data Entry, 6%

    Perform data entry, create spreadsheets, update and maintain database, track staff absences and arrange for substitute teachers.

  • PowerPoint, 6%

    Composed all correspondence and prepared presentations via PowerPoint.

"word processing," "payroll," and "math" are among the most common skills that school secretaries use at work. You can find even more school secretary responsibilities below, including:

Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a school secretary to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what school secretaries do because "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Additionally, a school secretary resume shows how school secretaries use interpersonal skills: "general office duties as assigned skills used microsoft office suite 2010 customer service interpersonal skills"

Organizational skills. Many school secretary duties rely on organizational skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently.," so a school secretary will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways school secretary responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "collected all monies, including tuition payments, fees, lunch, and organizational dues. "

Writing skills. school secretaries are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to school secretary responsibilities, because "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." A school secretary resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "school year school secretary school parent communication payment accounting entering individual student data writing correspondence entering and maintaining data base"

See the full list of school secretary skills

The three companies that hire the most school secretarys are:

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Compare different school secretaries

School secretary vs. Administrative associate

An administrative associate is responsible for performing various tasks such as handling and processing paperwork, attending meetings and preparing minutes, responding to inquiries and other forms of correspondence, keeping accurate records, updating databases, and monitoring the company's financial activities. They also communicate with various department personnel, ensuring coordination should any important matter would arise. Furthermore, as an administrative associate, they are in charge of procuring supplies, implementing company policies, and supporting any staff members if needed.

We looked at the average school secretary salary and compared it with the wages of an administrative associate. Generally speaking, administrative associates are paid $253 lower than school secretaries per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between school secretaries and administrative associates are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like word processing, payroll, and excellent interpersonal.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, school secretary responsibilities require skills like "math," "lawson," "office machines," and "schedule appointments." Meanwhile a typical administrative associate has skills in areas such as "administrative tasks," "customer service," "patients," and "medical terminology." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Administrative associates really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $41,923. Comparatively, school secretaries tend to make the most money in the government industry with an average salary of $36,733.The education levels that administrative associates earn slightly differ from school secretaries. In particular, administrative associates are 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a school secretary. Additionally, they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

School secretary vs. Administrative professional

An administrative professional specializes in performing administrative support and clerical tasks in a company or office, ensuring accuracy and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around managing schedules, arranging appointments and meetings, producing progress reports and presentations, delegating tasks, and attending meetings on behalf of executives or staff. There are also instances when an administrative assistant must answer calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries and concerns, welcome guests, relay messages, and provide staff with any support tasks or documents.

Administrative professional positions earn higher pay than school secretary roles. They earn a $4,360 higher salary than school secretaries per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both school secretaries and administrative professionals have skills such as "word processing," "payroll," and "data entry. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that school secretary responsibilities requires skills like "excellent interpersonal," "math," "purchase orders," and "lawson." But an administrative professional might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "administrative tasks," "sharepoint," and "phone calls."

Administrative professionals earn similar levels of education than school secretaries in general. They're 4.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

School secretary vs. Business office associate

Business office associates are responsible for providing clerical and administrative support to the office staff for efficient and smooth operations of the office operations. They typically perform a number of tasks that include managing and entering data to spreadsheets and databases, organizing and maintaining files and documents, and assisting with bookkeeping activities. Additionally, they are responsible for managing work projects and overall office management, collaborating with other departments, and maintaining financial documents and customer information. Business office associates are also expected to oversee human resource activities such as handling of employment forms and administering health insurance.

An average business office associate eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of school secretaries. The difference in salaries amounts to business office associates earning a $5,497 lower average salary than school secretaries.Using the responsibilities included on school secretaries and business office associates resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "payroll," "data entry," and "powerpoint.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, school secretaries are more likely to have skills like "word processing," "excellent interpersonal," "math," and "purchase orders." But a business office associate is more likely to have skills like "vehicle sales," "patients," "payable functions," and "cash management."

When it comes to education, business office associates tend to earn similar degree levels compared to school secretaries. In fact, they're 0.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

School secretary vs. Administrative clerk

An administrative clerk provides support to staff and does clerical works. These clerical duties include answering and making phone calls, typing documents, compiling and filing records, and scheduling appointments. The clerks often set up office meetings and invite reliable speakers. Also, they do research and prepare reports or presentations. Candidates for the job must be organized, detail-oriented, and can manage their time well. They must be tech-savvy and have a basic knowledge of bookkeeping. The salary depends on their experience, industry, and location of the job.

Administrative clerks average a lower salary than the annual salary of school secretaries. The difference is about $2,799 per year.While their salaries may vary, school secretaries and administrative clerks both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "word processing," "purchase orders," and "data entry. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A school secretary uses "payroll," "excellent interpersonal," "math," and "lawson." Administrative clerks are more likely to have duties that require skills in "customer service," "patients," "payroll data," and "database systems. "The finance industry tends to pay the highest salaries for administrative clerks, with average annual pay of $33,044. Comparatively, the highest school secretary annual salary comes from the government industry.The average resume of administrative clerks showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to school secretaries. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.3%.

Types of school secretary

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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