Educational Opportunities

The maximum requirements for the school secretary license are 30 college credits including the mandated, specified six credits, which are two credits in School Records and Accounts and four credits in education courses. Maximum requirements must be completed within five years of the issue date of your license. If you do not fulfill your maximum requirements within the time frame set by the DOE, you will revert to a substitute license and will be paid no higher than step 4A on the salary schedule. Call the DOE at 1-718-935-2462 and ask for the Validation Unit if you do not know when your maximum requirements are due.

The UFT offers mandated courses (two credits in School Records and Accounts and four credits in education courses). They are publicized in the course catalog inserts in the New York Teacher that is mailed to your home. There are three such inserts covering courses for the fall, the spring and the summer. The UFT courses are also advertised online. You can access them from here or from our chapter’s home page by clicking on the Coursework link on the right and then twice on the link for Course Catalog. Other undergraduate courses such as “Speedwriting” are offered at a reduced tuition rate through the UFT, as well. Kingsborough community college (1-718-368-5655) and Queensborough community college (1-718-631-6345) also offer these courses. Queens College offers undergraduate/graduate courses of study in more than 50 subjects. Call the Queens College Worker Education Program, Project LEAP at 1-718-997-3060 for information.

If you continue your education and earn additional credits, you may be eligible for one or both of the differentials offered to school secretaries. Differentials will provide you with additional salary for additional credits. The credits that you need for your differentials may be earned through college courses or through professional credit courses.

Consult Personnel Memorandum No 19, 1999-2000 for additional information about your salary differentials. Click here for the memo or from the right side of our chapter’s home page click on Requirements for Salary Differentials for School Secretaries.

Professional “P” credit courses can be taken for credits that you can apply toward either of your two differentials. They are not college credit courses and cannot be used toward your mandatory 30 credits for your license. Professional credit courses are advertised online and can be accessed by clicking here or onto the Coursework link on our home page and then onto the link for DOE courses.

You must register online for these courses. All courses are three credits and the cost is $195 per course. Upon successful completion, you will receive a certificate which you should keep in your personal file until you are ready to apply for either of your differentials.