Ashley Faklaris, attendance office secretary at Hoffman Estates High School, relies on her people skills to keep the school running smoothly.

“I work with between 150 and 300 kids on a daily basis,” said Faklaris. “I enjoy working with a lot of people, so it’s always rewarding.”

Faklaris values her impact on the lives of the student at Hoffman. “As an attendance secretary, we deal with everything from students fighting or ditching class to emotional problems and giving life advice. A lot of it is very rewarding. Each student is different and needs to be handled in a different way,” said Faklaris.

Hoffman Administrator Luis Arroyo also values Faklaris’s interaction with students.

“She’s the first person you go to. She monitors classes, keeps us alerted if a student is missing, and talks to directly to students and parents about any attendance issues. Without her and the rest of the attendance office, we wouldn’t know anything about where students are in the school, which we are required to by law,” said Arroyo.

Arroyo sees the impact of her work directly. “In many ways, the attendance is our first line of defense. We work hand in hand daily. The Intervention Team will completely mobilize if alerted by their department. They play an integral, very important part of our daily operations,” said Arroyo.

Faklaris’s talent at multi-tasking enables her to keep the school running smoothly. “When I’m helping a kid out, I could be writing emails and taking phone calls at the same time,” said Faklaris.

Maybe it’s Faklaris’s family growing up that instilled this work ethic in her. “Growing up as a triplet with two brothers and one younger brother, I was a very competitive, motivated kid. Plus, my parents gave me my great work ethic. You could say my parents are the bomb,” said Faklaris.

Arroyo attributes this impeccable work ethic to Faklaris’s impact on the school. “Mrs. Faklaris is a very meticulous person. She’s very detailed and independent. She takes initiative. She communicates immediately if there’s ever a problem and maintains a huge component surrounding the main role of the administration,” said Arroyo.

When Faklaris isn’t devoting her time to keeping Hoffman running smoothly, she’s spending time with her family. “Me and my family are really close. My husband and I hang out with them all the time. In fact, my husband and I are expecting a kid of our own soon,” said Faklaris.