“Hey,” she says, working at her desk when a student arrives.
“I was late,” he says.
“Gotcha,” she replies.
“I have my doctor’s note,” he says, handing it to her.
“Okay.”
“Do I get a pass?”
“Yeah, I’m going to give you one,” she responds, handing him the pass to class.
“Thank you!” And he leaves.
This brief student conversation is one small aspect of her day. This is Nora Birmingham, Attendance Manager and Registrar.
Not only does she write passes for many students, but she also handles the endless scroll of attendance emails and phone calls with grace and care.
Her instrumental work features additional responsibilities this year after the tuberculosis outbreak.
Birmingham constantly inputs PowerSchool attendance codes, responds to alumni and transfer transcript requests, sends absence notifications to parents, and follows up with emails and phone calls.
This is no easy task, but she uses productive organization and communication in her GMail and Google Drive, and she sorts and labels documents. She mentioned GMass, an extension that helps her effectively write emails.
She joined Riordan in 2014, intending to work here while her children were in their teenage years. She felt that the school was a good fit for them.
She took over attendance responsibilities after Virginia Alvarado, the Dean’s Administrative Assistant, retired when the Fall 2018 semester.
Birmingham’s most memorable moment was when her son, Brendan Birmingham ’23, graduated from the school. Her daughter is currently a junior at another high school.
She also worked at St. Anthony Immaculate Conception Catholic School prior to her current role.
Her added responsibilities this year include managing added emails and phone calls regarding the tuberculosis spread, to which she forwards them to HealthInfo.
When comparing attendance management now with attendance during COVID, she said that she referred to the same skills she built and the same attendance codes from the pandemic, representing her incisive experience.
Emily Ino, the current Dean’s Administrative Assistant and colleague, said, “She is like the cog in the machine that if you didn’t have her, everything would stop working. Nobody notices that piece, but if it goes missing, everybody freaks out.”
Birmingham is not only the backbone of the school; despite constantly multitasking, she is always a kind person at heart for students and colleagues alike.
When the counseling center was near Birmingham’s office, Jackie D’Angelo, college counselor, reminisced when Birmingham offered cups of tea to students if they were unwell.
Dean of Students Jennifer Niemeyer said, “She’s very straightforward… takes her job very seriously… [and she] also has a good sense of humor.”
Keoni Boncato ’27 said, “She lent me a sweater and let me keep it over the weekend. She is very nice. She said to give it back washed.”
Although students and parents only see or email her for brief interactions, her colleagues know that she works hard to keep the school running.
