Overview

• Title: Administrative Assistant for Early Childhood (Pre-K–Kindergarten)
• Department: Administrative Front Office
• Reports To: Head of Early Childhood
• Status: Non-exempt (Hourly)
• Duration: 12 months, Full-time (1.0 FTE)
• Schedule: Monday–Friday, 7:15 am – 3:45 pm (40 hours/week)

General Summary

The Early Childhood Administrative Assistant works as part of an administrative front office team to ensure smooth daily operations, high-quality customer service, and regulatory compliance. This role provides comprehensive administrative support to the Head of Early Childhood (EC), manages Child Care Division (CCD) compliance, greets families and visitors, coordinates school events, and assists with basic student care.

Essential Functions

1. Front Desk Administration & Customer Service

• Culture Advocate: Serve as the primary first point of contact for the Early Childhood building. Greet visitors, intentionally set a positive, calm, and professional climate, especially when navigating interactions with stressed, emotional, or highly enthusiastic families and staff.
• Reception & Check-In: Maintain visitor/volunteer/substitute check-in logs, manage the phones and walkie talkie systems.
• Daily Readiness: Arrive promptly at 7:15 am to open the building and prepare the front office to receive staff, students, and parents.
• Admissions Support: Greet prospective families, answer introductory questions about the admissions process, and assist with registration during high-traffic admissions events (e.g., Open Houses, new family playdates, orientations).
• Attendance & Scheduling: Monitor students' daily attendance in Blackbaud and SchoolPass. Call families regarding unexcused absences, and assist with morning arrival and afternoon dismissal workflows. Facilitate the organization and scheduling of parent-teacher conferences, community meetings, and any other EC scheduling needs
• Administrative Collaboration: Work collaboratively with the assistant to the head of elementary on shared tasks and/or cross-functional projects and act as the secondary person of contact to provide coverage on an as needed basis.
• Office Operations: Order, organize, and distribute office and copy room supplies. Sort and distribute mail for all campus buildings. Maintain and troubleshoot general office equipment (copiers, scanners, phones).
• Facilities & Environment: Keep the front office tidy and create/post campus signage. Coordinate with the Facilities Manager to report urgent maintenance or custodial needs.

2. Oregon Office of Child Care (CCD) Compliance

• Compliance Management: Manage all aspects of compliance, licensing, and record-keeping per CCD requirements for Early Childhood, Global Kids, Summer Camp, and Emergency Childcare programs. Ensure timely license renewals in June and August.
• Staff Tracking & Onboarding: Track faculty CCD registrations, background checks, and training hours (15 hours required annually). Send renewal reminders and lead CCD compliance orientations for new hires, teachers, and substitutes.
• Training Coordination: Partner with the Head of EC and the Head of Professional Learning to research and arrange on-campus professional development opportunities that comply with applicable regulations.
• Summer Compliance Projects: Update and audit staff CCD binders; archive former employee files.
• Coordinate with the Oregon Registry Online (ORO) for certificate submissions.
• Prepare and refresh class attendance logs and books for the upcoming school year, and archive or shred expired logs.

3. Executive Support to the Head of Early Childhood (EC)

• Confidentiality & Discretion: Practice discretion with sensitive financial, legal, student, family, and staff information with integrity and professionalism. Thoughtfully filter parent and staff feedback through redirecting unproductive conversations or gossip while ensuring any sensitive concerns are brought to the Head of EC.
• Calendar & Communication: Manage the Head of EC's calendar. Schedule appointments, manage phone inquiries, route messages, and coordinate travel or meeting logistics.
• Clerical Support: Draft, proofread, and format documents, spreadsheets, letters, and presentations.
• Personnel Support: Assist the Head of EC with managing teacher/Teaching Assistant (TA) break schedules and organizing daily substitute coverage.
• Financial Tracking: Assist the Head of EC with tracking classroom budget expenses and reconciling credit card receipts.
• Payroll Administration: Collect, review, and submit monthly paper timesheets for EC teachers, substitutes, and aides to HR/Payroll.

4. Student Care, Logistics, & Events

• Student Social-Emotional Support: Assist with managing EC student behavior in the front desk area on an as needed basis utilizing positive behavior interventions such as asking a student to sit down, redirecting attention, and offering emotional comfort.
• Student First Aid: Provide basic first aid and comfort to ill or injured students; communicate health updates to parents as needed.
• Safety Drills: Partner with the Health and Safety Coordinator to execute and log required emergency drills (fire, earthquake, lockdown).
• Student File Management: Create, update, and maintain physical and digital student records. (Summer: Shift files to new grade levels, archive withdrawn student files, and file year-end report cards).
• Snack Coordination: Manage the EC Snack budget, coordinate with snack vendors, and distribute snack bins/schedules to EC classrooms.
• Logistics Support: Support the Head of Professional Learning with planning and coordinating travel and logistics for faculty traveling to professional development events
• Event Planning: Coordinate and assist with EC-specific events (e.g., Handshaking Ceremony, Fall Parade, Low-K Promotion) and school-wide functions (festivals and graduation).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Mission-Driven: Passionate about early childhood education and the international mission of the school.
• Problem Solving: Proactive, resourceful, and collaborative; able to work seamlessly within a team and independently.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a high degree of emotional intelligence and professionalism.
• Technical Proficiency: Strong skills in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Suite. Experience with student databases like Blackbaud and Toddle highly preferred. Comfort learning and adopting new technologies.
• Organization: Strong project management skills and attention to detail, with a proven ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment despite frequent workplace interruptions

Required Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED.
• 1–3 years of administrative support experience, ideally within a Pre-K or elementary school environment.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Must be able to obtain CBR
• CPR/First Aid certification required, or must be willing to obtain upon hire

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• Current First Aid/CPR certification.
• Experience working directly with or around children ages Pre-K through 5th grade.
• Bilingual proficiency in English and one of the school's immersion languages (Spanish, Japanese, or Chinese).
• Experience living, studying, or working internationally.

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements

• Ability to efficiently navigate a multi-building campus, including walking uphill and climbing stairs.
• Ability to stand, sit, and type for extended periods.
• Must be able to safely lift and carry up to 40 pounds.
• Occasional flexibility required to work beyond 40 hours per week during peak school events or inspections. Occasional travel to off-site school events may be required.

**Employment is contingent on successful completion of the Oregon Department of Education Background Check http://www.ode.state.or.us/services/transportation/forms/2282-M.pdf ***

About International School of Portland

The International School provides a warm multicultural environment where children are fully immersed in Spanish, Japanese or Chinese language and culture. Children become fluent in another language, at home in other cultures, and engaged in math, science, social studies and arts. The International School is Portland's first International Baccalaureate elementary school. It was founded in 1990 and today educates over 480 students from age 3 through 5th grade.

Connections working at International School of Portland