The Everyday Lives of NHS Secretaries, Michelle Alberti and Kimberly LaScala

Nutley High School is the biggest building in the school district. With that comes many different tasks to juggle between the students, teachers, and staff.  Michelle Alberti and Kimberly LaScala are the NHS main office secretaries. Both play a very important role in keeping the building in check. Mrs Alberti has worked at NHS for four years and Mrs. LaScala has been here for a little over a year. Both are now experts regarding what goes on during a day at NHS. 

Before working at NHS, Mrs. Alberti worked at the Parks and Recreation in Nutley and Mrs. LaScala worked at a mortgage company and coached tennis. Now a part of the Nutley High School community, they cover the many different tasks during a seven-hour school day, “We do a little bit of everything,” says Mrs LaScala. The list ranges anywhere from keeping track of IDs, bathroom passes, giving out honor roll certificates, planning graduation and in the summer, getting the school ready for the upcoming year.

With so many different things going on, certain times of the day and the year could get more hectic than others. Both agree that the morning, lunch block, and the end of the day are the busiest for them. They also believe that September and June are definitely the craziest since the seniors are leaving, and freshman year is approaching for a new grade. Mrs Alberti and Mrs LaScala’s main goal is to make sure that everyone is satisfied while everything is going smoothly. “Anything that’s presented by anyone that walks in the door, we are just helping whatever crisis is needed,'' Mrs Alberti says. “Whenever a student needs something. Whenever a teacher needs something. Whenever a parent needs something.”

Mrs Alberti and Mrs LaScala are in contact with students almost everyday. This provides them the opportunity to get to know many of the kids and watch them grow during their high school years. When asked what is one of her favorite aspects of her job is, Mrs. Alberti says, “seeing the kids come in as a freshman and seeing them grow to senior year. And just to see the transition and how they mature through the years.” 

When asking Mrs. LaScala the same question she says, “I like working with the kids and I also like when, in the summer, we are planning for the rest of the year and then you get to take the steps to make all those things happen successfully.”  

As new generations of students come and go, seeing them mature into young adults and to see their plans succeed is one of Mrs Alberti and Mrs LaScala’s favorite parts of working at NHS.