At the front desk of Eisenhower Junior High School sits Patricia Kirkwood, deftly handling whatever problem or challenge walks through the door.
Problems that can’t be solved by teachers wind up at her desk in the administrative offices of the Hoffman Estates school. Kirkwood, secretary to Assistant Principal Roger Summers, decides how to resolve them, provides appropriate help or refers them elsewhere.
Non-disciplinary problems, for example, may require securing permission for a student to leave school early, helping a youngster find a lost book, or just offering good advice.
Disciplinary problems can range from misbehavior in class to fighting, tardiness or truancy. She decides where to refer the student, either to Summers for disciplinary action, or to Samuel Hanasz, the school’s guidance counselor, for academic or personal concerns.
“On average, I see about 25 students a day, almost double that on Fridays,” says Kirkwood, who has been at the school for seven years.
Kirkwood has a way to cope with the problems of the school’s approximately 750 7th and 8th graders: She applies her version of the golden rule.
“I treat children the way I want to be treated,” she says.
“Kids have an opinion, and you must make them know that their opinion counts, that it’s important. In a disciplinary situation, however, you must make students know that their actions make the decisions and dictate the outcome,” she adds.
Kirkwood, 43, was born and grew up in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood on the Far West Side, the oldest of 11 children.
“When you have 10 brothers and sisters, it gives you a sense of fairness with the children,” she says. “I can weed out what’s important and what’s not.
“I love junior-high kids. They’re the best age. You can talk to them; you can discuss things with them. They’re flexible.
“But kids this age don’t really know what’s going to happen to them the next day-changes in their bodies and their minds. The changes they experience can be scary.” Sometimes parents talk to them about it, sometimes they don’t. These days kids get more guidance and information from their peers than from their family.”
Her typical workday begins at 7:30 a.m. and often goes well beyond 3:30 p.m. Her duties include scheduling classes, entering report-card grades into the school computer, compiling reports on attendance, registering new students, and handling all the newsletter and informational mailings as well the correspondence of Summers and Principal James Muir.
“And if necessary, I’ll also provide nursing services: Band-Aids for cuts, ice packs for bruises or injuries,” she says. She does not dispense medication.
Muir, who has been principal for six years, works closely with Kirkwood and praises her ability to deal with students and the public.
“She’s very helpful to students and is always cheerful, positive, and creates a very good impression of our school,” Muir says. “She provides information, help and resources for parents, new enrollees and members of the business community whom we come in contact with.
“I constantly get compliments from parents of students who have just moved into the area. Ms. Kirkwood knows the area very well, and helps both new students and their parents acclimate themselves to the new area.”
Similar sentiments are echoed by Assistant Principal Summers.
“Patti is a super secretary, always very conscientious in her work and serving above and beyond the call of duty, working extra hours after school, for example,” Summers says. “I’m very demanding, and she never complains. And last summer, when she was off, I asked her to come (in) to work on the fall scheduling, which she did without a complaint.
“She’s very well respected among the students and parents, which is not an easy thing to achieve,” he adds. “With the students, she’s excellent-motherly, but she tells it like it is.”
Hanasz, who has been the school’s counselor for 14 years, also works closely with Kirkwood.
“Patti is a great person,” Hanasz says. “She has a great sense of humor, and a warmth and genuineness that make her a pleasure to work with. She’s also a hard worker, energetic and conscientious, and always does whatever needs doing. She’s invaluable that way.
“She also seems to have a gift for handling 29 things at the same time and keeping track of all of them. While the rest of us are forgetting things, she’s got everything organized for us.”
Patricia Stevens, Muir’s secretary, sits at the desk behind Kirkwood. They met before Kirkwood began working at the high school, when their daughters played soccer in a Hoffman Estates Park District program.
“Patti is very friendly, warm, strong and firm,” Stevens says. “She can handle people who demand things (that are) not appropriate, like parents who may get angry about something. She knows how to deflect anger. An angry parent came in once demanding to see the principal. Patti was able to calm her down, and handled the problem herself.
“She’s very family-oriented and has a wonderful sense of humor. Most important, students respect and listen to her. She speaks with authority.”
Students seem to have an equally high opinion of Kirkwood and appreciate her helpfulness and compassion.
“She’s my neighbor,” says Lisa Roe, who was an 8th grader in the spring. “She always helps me with rides wherever I need to go. She also helps with our cheerleading group. She gives us ideas for the school talent show. She’s very funny, very nice, and I love her.”
Kim Waclawski, a classmate of Lisa, adds, “She’s very helpful. I just tell her what I need, and she helps me.”
Another classmate, LaToya Canty, agrees. “I had a lot of problems, and she took me aside and told me what to do. She shows you how to deal with problems. I really like her.”
Before coming to Eisenhower, Kirkwood worked at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles as a waitress, then as a part-time manager for the restaurant, then for seven years as full-time restaurant manager. During that time she also worked as a substitute secretary for three years, and when a position opened at Eisenhower in 1988, she applied and was hired.
Kirkwood has lived in Hoffman Estates for 20 years with her husband, William, a heating, ventilation and air conditioning engineer. They have three children, ages 24, 21 and 15.
Kirkwood, who was a cheerleader at Austin High School, is cheerleading commissioner for the Chicago Suburban Youth Football Conference, a group of 20 Illinois towns with cheerleading squads.
She also volunteers overseeing the cheerleading coaches for the Hoffman Estates Athletic Association Raiders, a football team of 11-year-olds. Her husband and son William Jr. help coach the team.
Helping young people and earning their respect satisfy her, Kirkwood says.
“Another big satisfaction on this job is to watch 7th and 8th graders gain confidence and maturity,” she adds. “I’m at the stage in my life where being happy with myself is important. I like my work, and I like helping kids.”
