Lindale High School may seem small to its students, but that is not the case for some of its faculty. The office staff has a very difficult job managing over 1,200 students each day. Their responsibilities range from attendance, answering phones, giving advice and everything in between. 

“My assigned job is mostly answering the phone and signing students in and out and posting them in Skyward for their attendance,” office secretary Regina Hicks said. “I also post D-halls that’s part of my job and I do the tardies first thing in the morning. I do all kinds of things. Sometimes I get to play nurse, check temperatures and give kids peppermints. We’re always stepping outside the line.”

There are many working parts for an office to function properly. Everyone, from the principals to the office aids, need to be in constant communication and willing to help each other out.

“I have to pick up all the roll sheets for the teachers that are out, take deliveries if something needs to be delivered, answer phones calls if Mrs. Regina or Mrs. Sacrey can’t get to them and direct the phone calls to whoever they need to be directed to,” student office aid Brianna Epperson said. “I was a shy person at first but [being an office aid] helped me talk to more people and [got] me out of that spot.”

The office staff comes in contact with many people each day, which makes for many interesting experiences. Though some things the staff deals with is sensitive and confidential, there are also many lighthearted and fun escapades.

“Most of the experiences I have are the little crazy things that happen here,” Hicks said. “The first one that comes to mind is Officer King playing around on a hover-board standing in front of me and the next thing I see is feet straight up in the air. There are a few funny videos of me falling out of my chair; it’s usually all the funny experiences. And of course I have all of the students who like to come in and visit with me, the ones who like to run late. All those are special experiences.”

The office staff has a very grueling work schedule ahead of them each day. They must work with teachers, handle POs, manage registration, transcripts and various other student related issues.

“I think all of us do things outside of our normal responsibilities,” CTE department secretary Laura Blackwell said. “Whether it be helping out another office member or teacher with something they may need.  We all help each other out and work as a team. The one thing that sticks out to me is how giving the staff is when a student is in need of anything.  LHS always comes through!”

Though the job may be stressful and demanding at times, the office staff thinks it is all worth it. They get to witness many firsts for students and those experiences are all worth it.

“There have been a lot of experiences, some you can’t talk about because what happens in the office stays in the office,” attendance clerk Chelsey Sacrey said. “The kids, they’re crazy, they crack me up because I have two younger kids at home so getting to deal with older kids, it’s a lot of fun. There’s a lot of different experiences, you get to see kids get their letter jackets for the first time and you see them try on their cap and gown for the first time. It’s really a neat experience to get to experience that with them.