This interview was conducted in the fall and has been edited for clarity and length.
All students at OPHS have noticed a new face this year at the attendance desk, as by now most students have had to see her for missing school or coming in late. Many students have talked about how nice Mrs. K is, but many students don’t even know her name. [It’s Mrs. Kruszka, by the way.] I had the chance to sit down with her and talk about who she is, her new position, and her thoughts on attendance. After all, attendance impacts every single student in the school because it’s the reason that we are all here almost every school day. Most every single student will have to talk to Mrs. K at some point, so it’s important to get to know her a little more.
SB: Where did you go to highschool?
Mrs. K: Orchard Park High School! Pretty good huh? Started years ago and here I landed right back where I started.
SB: Did you go to college? If so, where and for what?
Mrs. K: Yes I did go to college. I went to Mount Union college in Alliance Ohio. I went for a double major. I went for business administration and I went for communications, which I received a degree for both. Then I did work in the Business world for 23 years until I got married; and then after I had kids [working at OPHS] worked out so much better timewise. I could be home with the kids on vacation and things like that. So that is why I switched.
SB: What are some hobbies you enjoy?
Mrs. K: Well I have to tell you, before my knees hurt, I loved to play golf; I used to be on the tennis team. When I was here, I was an Orchard Park Cheerleader. I love athletics. Now I am more looking from the [spectator’s] view, but we are huge football fans in my house. We go to all the Bills games, watch all the Bills games, and we do a lot of things that are all sports related. That’s like my big thing…and I do enjoy cooking.”
SB: How did you find out about a position here opening?
Mrs. K: When my kids had just started to reach the end of elementary-beginning of middle school, I started thinking that maybe I should get back into something. [The 2014] Sandy Hook [school shooting] was just terrible, and when the kids had all this happen, they decided to lock down all the schools. We had never locked the front doors like that before, and with doing a lockdown like that, they needed someone to lock the doors. So there was a position that came up, and I tried for it and I got it. So when I started here for the first time, I was at the front desk letting people in and out.
SB: Why did you want to work here?
Ms. K: Two reasons, and the main one was because it worked around my family and my kids. That was amazing, but I also missed working in the business world, and I have always enjoyed working, so that was the second reason. I just felt like it was time for me to get back and do something for me when I had time to do it.
SB: What is the hardest part about [the attendance] job?
Mrs. K: [Attendance] is the hardest job I’ve done here; there’s no time to think practically. I’m learning not only the job itself, but I’m learning the Power School system. So there’s so much to learn; but as you’ll notice, there’s somebody in front of me, the phone ringing, emails to answer; there’s something every minute I’m here. I enjoy being busy, I love it, but I just wanna be able to work efficiently and not being as efficient as I can be is frustrating. Every once in a while I ask if I can throw the phone out of the window, but nobody has given me permission yet!
SB: What is your favorite part about this job?
Mrs. K: Oh, I just love being with people, the kids, and just everybody that works here–that’s my forte. I’m a people person; I’m a talker. You can tell I am!
SB: Have you noticed any trends in attendance?
Mrs. K: Yes, they stated that the attendance in the entire country is 30% lower. I’ve noticed that the kids are out more frequently and definitely have more appointments. They definitely are coming in a little later than they used to; a lot of them will do their appointments in the mornings. A lot of them, if they aren’t feeling well, will at least get part of the day in. So it is different than what I was used to, and I feel it is part of the doctors’ offices who have kind of led this change with such early appointments.
SB: Do you think there is any way attendance could be improved?
Mrs. K: We’re kind of thinking about it now…what we could do to make more [kids] want to come and want to be here. One of the things we are attempting is we are listening to the kids and making sure they want to be here. We want the kids to be here but still, of course, make sure there’s rules and kids follow the rules. We also want to make sure that they feel they can talk to someone.
SB: If you could give one piece of advice to all OPHS students regarding attendance what would that be?
Mrs. K: It’s definitely beneficial to be here. It’s so much harder to make anything up than it is to be there and hear everything for yourself. If there’s ever any hesitation on whether you should come or not, I definitely feel it’s so important to come. You miss so much when you’re not here, and making it up is just awful. Just rethink all you’ll miss and all you’re gonna have to make up if you’re not here.
SB: Do you think your previous job is helpful?
Mrs. K: Of course, while this school isn’t a business, there is of course a business side to it. Along with that, in the business world you have to interact with other people on a daily basis, so it helps since I’m one of the first people students will see each morning.
SB: How do you stay in such a good mood so early in the morning?
Mrs. K: It’s definitely tough waking up early, but once I’m here, I’m here, so I figure I might as well make the most of it. It takes just as much effort to be nice as it does to be mean, so why be nasty? There’s no point to be nasty, and all of the people here are just so great, so I always do my best to be nice.
