In the early-morning hours, one might convincingly argue that the most happening place in the school is tucked in the corner of the main office. Inside resides a certain someone whose familiarity with the students of NASH is unrivaled, even down to the curve in their signature. 

For the past four years at NASH, Mrs. Geri Fenton has single-handedly overseen the Attendance Office, writing tardy slips for periods on end and entering excused absences into the electronic system as late arrivals amass. Though Fenton’s days start the same as the rest of the staff, when the bell rings at 7:23, the line outside of her window begins to grow.

“When the tardy students file in, a bunch of them have their Starbuck’s cups, but they say that they were not ‘feeling well,’” Fenton said with a chuckle, “but I am thinking that the Starbuck’s line was just longer than what they thought.” 

After the first two periods of signing late students into attendance, Fenton turns her attention to a daily slew of parent calls and online excuses. She describes the number of emails as “constant,” occupying the majority of her day. 

Fenton has seen excuses in all forms, but the little surprises always excite her. 

“The funny thing about this job is that I get the excuses on anything from paper towels to a nice piece of elegant paper,” she said.

To some, her job might sound mundane — taking calls, replying to endless emails, greeting students — but Fenton insists that it is anything but that. 

“Sometimes I do not catch on, but just the other day I caught a kid who forged a signature. I love when I catch them,” she whispered. “The penmanship made it obvious that it was not a parent’s signature.”

Catching a forgery is satisfying for Fenton, but she is quick to explain that safety is her top priority. She stresses that North Allegheny will be held responsible for any harm that occurs to a student if their whereabouts are not known.

Fenton’s stories of sneaky students do not occur very often, however, because each year she tends to see the same pattern of late arrivers and early exiters.

“You get to know your frequent flyers and their faces, so you can tell if they are being honest or not,” she said. “It’s kind of funny because I get the same kids coming in late all the time, and their excuse is that they are sick. I never want to get a kid in trouble or have them receive detention. I usually give them one free pass, but if it happens again I have to mark it unexcused until I get a note.”

One might commonly surmise that the daily back and forth struggles with students can be exhausting, but Fenton claims it is only half the battle. It is not the students who cause the bulk of the issues, but rather the parents.

“You get more parents on the phone who are funnier than the kids,” she said. “Sometimes I catch the parents covering for the kids. They will stumble and not know the simple answers to when their child is leaving or where they are going.”

Understanding that her job can somedays play out like a tug of war, Fenton said she often gives the parents the benefit of the doubt, acknowledging that the whole story of the particular attendance issue in question is not usually divulged to her. 

But Fenton refuses to grow cynical in her job. The early-morning greetings and small talk that ensues upon the arrival to school are enough to lift her spirits and remind her of the countless positive relationships she has formed students.

“They’re kids,” she said. “Through all of the commotion and foul language, it’s high school, and I understand.”

Behind the glass doors of the Main Office on the first floor one woman embodies the optimism and school spirit that characterize the best of NASH, while also ensuring that every day at the school runs as smoothly as possible. Meet Mrs. Mary Anne Foglio, not only Dr. Dirda’s secretary, but also secretary to seemingly everyone involved with the senior high school. 

Foglio, who once worked for Mellon Bank, has been with North Allegheny for 17 years. Throughout her career, she has gained a wide variety of skills that help her with her job today.

“I started my [educational] career at McKnight Elementary as a special education assistant,” Foglio said. “When I came to NASH, I was the attendance secretary for a year, and then I was a counseling secretary back in the counseling office for six years, and then this is my fifth year as the principal’s secretary. It gives you some sort of an idea because on the student side I understand applying to schools, doing your schedules, doing things like that. I have sort of a broad brush idea.”

When she transitioned from the elementary school to the “big house,” as she calls it, of the senior high school, Foglio was worried about the age difference. However, she soon came to realize that high schoolers are very similar to the kindergarten versions of themselves. 

“When I made the jump to the high school, I was kind of nervous. I thought, you know, with the bigger kids, what’s it going to be like? It wasn’t that much different! You’re still the same person, just a little bigger. You’re definitely more mature, and there’s different issues and situations, but you’re still the same person. They went from these tiny, little scared kids that blossomed into students who are mature.”

Foglio is also the mother of two North Allegheny alumni. While she was a counseling secretary, she was able to spend her younger son’s senior year in the same building. 

“I kept thinking he may not like having his mom in the building, but he loved it,” she said. “He called me his living locker because he would stop and give me stuff. Sometimes his friends would come in at lunchtime and we would sit back in the conference room and have a little chat. It was fun!”

The most impressive part of Foglio’s job is the amount of work she puts in for graduation. Although graduation is a one-night event, she prepares for months to ensure that the graduating class finishes their high school career with a proud exit. 

“We start planning for graduation as early as December,” Foglio said. “I order the diplomas and the caps and the gowns, and do the programs. That last year was really tricky. We did it in a completely different way than we had ever done it, but everyone rises to the occasion. Last year was so rewarding because people didn’t think that we were going to have an in-person graduation because unfortunately we couldn’t the year before.”

Despite the pandemic, Foglio is able to look back on last year with pride. She appreciates the growth and patience that came hand-in-hand with the virus, even though her job as a secretary was made difficult. 

“You can’t take all student files home. There were a lot of opportunities where I did need to come up to the building, but for short stints,” she said. “You had to be really organized because you had to know what you needed to grab and when you were able to get in and take care of things you just couldn’t at home. The best part of it was that everyone seemed to be a little more patient. People kind of understood that everybody was doing the best they could.”

When she is not in the main office, Foglio enjoys spending time with her grandson, entertaining her family, and eating food. 

“I like eating, socializing, entertaining, and spending time with my family,” she said. “I have a two-year old grandson, so I would say family is my biggest hobby. Capital Grille is my most favorite place to eat, but that doesn’t happen very often. But even just Chipotle — I’m not fancy, you know, I like Mexican and Italian food.”

It is readily apparent that Mrs. Foglio loves the district, students, and staff with her whole heart. Her love for North Allegheny is inspiring to everyone, and she is a constant reminder to approach each day with a positive outlook. 

“I’m always here to lend an ear or a hand,” she said. “Everybody right now is a little bit tense and things are a little bit more difficult with COVID and everything, but everyone has each other’s back at the end of the day. The big thing right now is that everyone needs to take a step outside themselves and look around to see how you can be there for each other. That’s really important right now.”