State Calendar (T.E.S.A.)

Staff Training for Effective Management

Staff Training for Effective Management (STEM) is a professional development program designed for educational support personnel. The STEM program is sponsored by the Texas Educational Secretaries Association, Inc. (TESA). The program was developed in cooperation with the Texas Education Agency, Texas Association of School Administrators, Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association, Texas Association of Secondary School Principals, Texas Public Community/Junior College Association, University of Texas, and other professional educational associations. The original program was funded through an ECIA, Chapter 2, Section 577 grant.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE
STEM is a three-phrase program designed to enhance technical and job-specific skills for educational support personnel. Sessions are hosted by local school districts, colleges, and educational service centers. Certificates of attendance are presented at the end of each STEM session. The TESA Central Office cannot maintain STEM records for non-members.
While the program is designed to establish a firm foundation of information and to continue to build on that foundation, participants may take the classes in any order and progress toward Certified Educational Office Professional (CEOP) certification.
Following are details of program requirements and content:
PHASE I Three six - hour sessions (Required for CEOP)

Managing Change
• administrator/secretary management team
• educational terminology
• learning modalities
• process of change
• school climate
Rationale - Effective support staff personnel should know the language and background of policies and rules unique to education.
Effective Office Practices
• organization/records management
• office techniques
• composition
• mechanics of business writing
• effective writtencommunication
• formatting letters/memos
• postal regulations
Rationale - Educational office personnel should demonstrate skills in both general office procedures and written communications.

Communication
• Overview of communication including survey of communication process of verbal and non-verbal skills within the professional context
Rationale - Effective communication skills are essential for all educational support personnel and administrators.
PHASE II Two six-hour sessions (Required for CEOP)
Interpersonal Communication
• listening
• responding
• providing feedback
Effective Communication in Organizations
• personal Profile
• analyzing communication style
• applying communication skills within the educational organization
PHASE III A 30 clock –hour, self-directed course of study based on the individual needs of each participant. Parts A, B, and C do not have to be completed in sequence.
PART A TESA’s three-hour course “PROFESSIONAL GROWTH PLAN” (required for CEOP)
PART B Nine clock-hours from courses developed by TESA. (Required for CEOP)
Current TESA courses include:
3 hours
* Time Management * Telephone Skills
* Professional Image * Assertiveness Training
* Human Relations (formally Public Relations)
* Dialogue of Diversity 6 hours
* Leadership Training & Team Bldg. * Conflict Management
* Customer Service * Business Grammar/Law Writing
* Stress Management * Agenda for Personal and Organizational
* Rules for Spelling/Proofreading Improvement
TESA conducts an ongoing assessment of professional development requests and future sessions will be developed to meet those needs.
PART C A minimum of 18 clock-hours of self-directed study. (Required for CEOP)
Courses selected by the participant must be a minimum of three clock-hours on one job-related subject taught in a classroom setting by a qualified instructor (e.g. a college credit course, continuing education course, seminar, or TESA course not used in part B). To apply non-TESA training toward Phase III credit, a participant must submit a course documentation form with verification for each course to be applied toward Phase III.

CERTIFICATION
Certified Educational Office Professional (CEOP) certificates will be awarded to TESA members in good standing upon successful completion of program requirements and submission of the one-time certification fee of $20.00
CERTIFICATION UPDATE
Annual update of CEOP certification consists of six clock-hours of course study per year for those CEOP recipients who wish to keep their CEOP certification current. This coursework must be completed between August 1 and July 31 of each year to meet requirements for that year. Documentation must be submitted within 30 days of the close of the year (by August 31) to receive credit. Coursework taken prior to completion of CEOP Program cannot be used for certification update.
Requirements for certification update are:
• Current and continuous membership in TESA (annual dues are $20.00).
• Six clock-hours of job-related course study per year (August 1 – July 31), beginning with August 1 following completion of CEOP.
A course is eligible for certification update if it is taken after the completion of CEOP requirements and is a minimum of three clock-hours on one job-related subject taught in a classroom setting by a qualified structor (e.g. a college credit course, continuing education course, seminar, or TESA course not used in Phase III). Participatants may attend and receive certification update credit for any STEM class if it has been three or more years since credit was given for the class. In order to apply non-TESA training toward certification update credit, a participant must submit a course documentation form with verification.
In the event that certification participation and/or TESA membership lapses, participants may reactivate their status by submitting TESA membership dues for the current year and completing six clock-hours of required course work. Certification credit will not be awarded for any lapsed year(s).
For additional information regarding the STEM program please contact:

TESA Central Office
P. O. Box 1565
Austin, Texas 78767
Phone: (512) 477-0724
Fax: (512) 477-1848