NASHUA – Whether on the phone dealing with parents or entering data into computers, they’re often behind the scenes, making sure things are running smoothly at your child’s school.

“We’re holding down the fort,” said Rosie Berrocales, a secretary who works for the Nashua School District.

This week, the New Hampshire Association of Educational Office Professionals is holding its annual conference at the Radisson Hotel in Nashua. The conference started Wednesday and ends today.

The organization dates to 1939, when the New Hampshire Association of School Secretaries was formed by a group of 20 secretaries. Since then, the association has expanded to more than 300 members and has also shed the term “secretary” from its name. As Pam Posey, head of the National Association of Educational Office Professionals, put it, the secretary label is outdated and doesn’t cover the wide range of tasks being done by its members.

“We have support staff, office managers, administrative assistants,” Posey said. “There are people working in public relations, writing newsletters. It’s just so varied.”

Posey, who works at the University of Southern Mississippi, was running one of several workshops Thursday. She spent part of her presentation giving tips on phone etiquette.

“You have to deal with difficult people,” Posey told the group, “but you have to have the right attitude.”

Speak clearly, don’t interrupt and don’t chew gum or eat while talking, she said. It’s also important to pay attention, ask questions and keep a positive attitude, she said. Posey suggested keeping a mirror at your desks to see facial expressions while talking on the phone.

Some sessions focused on topics like records retention, education law and Excel, but others were intended to benefit well being. There were sessions on energy flow and yoga.

Debra Peppers, a motivational speaker who gave the keynote address Wednesday evening, talked with groups Thursday about the importance of exuding confidence, even if you have to force it. Be the person to initiate a handshake, she said.

“Pretend you’re a positive person. Give yourself permission and you will become it,” she said.

Gretchen Roussin works as the Medicaid coordinator for the Rochester School District and is also the registrar for the conference. She said a little more than 200 school employees from across the state were attending, but she estimated nearly half were paying their own way.

“Most of these ladies on the pecking order of the pay scale are at the bottom,” Roussin said. “But these are really dedicated people.”

On Wednesday, the organization distributed $3,000 in scholarships to high school students, money raised through donations and raffles by members. Also, members were bringing in books, hygiene products and other items to be donated to active duty military personnel.

Roussin said the hardest part of her job in Rochester is finding time for the little things that need to be done. The Medicaid program is responsible for making sure special education students are getting the services they need, she said.

“We’re serving a lot of students who have a lot of needs,” she said. “It’s incredibly rewarding, but challenging. For me, it’s paying it forward and wanting to give back.” Roussin said the association has been expanding to include members from charter schools and private schools, as well.

Martha Ouellette, an administrative assistant at Nashua High School North, is the president-elect of the organization. She’s been working in Nashua for 11 years. At North, most of her job entails working with budgets, payroll and purchasing, she said.

“It’s really important for the girls to come out and network with people,” Ouellette said.

The job has changed considerably from the traditional secretary, she said,

“They come from all walks of life in the education office,” she said.

While the jobs requirements may have changed, other things haven’t. The workforce is still universally women. Ouellette said she couldn’t think of any male members in the New Hampshire association.

Edith Hammond, the founder of the conference, was in attendance Thursday. Now 95, she helped to organized the first conference in 1952. She started her career as a secretary working for the superintendent in Pembroke.

Susan Angel and Berrocales were two of the office professionals from Nashua who were at the conference Thursday. They both work in the district office and were taking a break between sessions.

Angel works in the special education department, but has held many other jobs in the district, from working in a school kitchen to being a paraprofessional in the classroom. She took the office position after her last position was cut.

Angel attended a workshop on catastrophic aid funding run by special education officials from the state Department of Education. Angel said it was helpful and gave her a better understanding of the state’s guidelines.

Berrocales said the work secretaries do often goes under the radar without any recognition. That’s why it’s important to have a conference where they can come together, share strategies and remind one another of why they do what they do, she said.

“We all know that what drives us is the children,” she said.

Michael Brindley can be reached at 594-6426 or mbrindley@nashuatelegraph.com.