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When it’s cold outside and you’ve forgotten your key card, there’s one person you can always count on: Claire Harrison. But she does much more than manage security.

A staple of the community, Harrison began working at the School in Extended Day in 2022 and became Operations Manager for the Middle and Upper Schools last fall. For many students, she’s the first friendly face they see each morning.

After longtime registrar and Lower School diversity leader Janeata Robinson retired after 22 years, Harrison stepped into the front-office work that keeps the day moving. Now, as Operations Manager for the Middle and Upper Schools, she helps run the Chase Building’s daily operations—overseeing attendance and tardy tracking, coordinating sign-ins and sign-outs, and keeping safety front and center.

“Ms. Harrison is such a warm and welcoming face when you walk into school,” Alexa Dykeman ’27 said.

However, there is a lot that students don’t see from Harrison.

Since arriving at the School, Harrison has been working to make the tardy slip system paperless.

“I think just being able to simplify the sign-in and sign-out process,” Harrison said. “I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I think it would be really nice to be able to get things online.

While tardy slips and attendance are important, Dean of Students Paul Murray, who works closely with Harrison, also spoke about her laser-focused mindset on safety.

“What Ms. Harrison does, with the granular attention to detail she has around attendance, is that if a teacher marks a student absent when they’re supposed to be in class, we can lock in really quickly and find that student,” Murray said. “Ms. Harrison’s communication skills and her ability to manage a really complicated—and in many ways free-flowing—day, with students coming and going, are critical to how we function as a school.”

Before arriving at the School, Harrison organized the after-school program and summer camp at The Wheeler School.

Harrison’s experience has evolved since she arrived four years ago, beginning in McCoy Hall, where she organized the Lower School Extended Day Program. She now looks forward to the new Wellness and Recreation Center, which she envisions as a potential space for the Middle School after-school program.

“I’m curious to see, when the new building is finished, if there are any changes I can think of for the after-school program,” Harrison said. “If there could be a space for them in there, that would be cool, because I feel like so many things happen in the Dining Commons.”

The School’s size is what initially drew her here, Harrison said, as the school she attended from nursery school through 12th grade also had a small community.

“Part of what drew me to Brimmer was how it seemed similar to where I grew up and what I was used to,” Harrison said. “I think that what’s special about a place like this is that you really get to see people turn into real adults, which I love.”

Outside of the School, Harrison enjoys attending New England Patriots games, traveling, and going to concerts.

“The School would not be complete without her,” Ryland August ’28 said.”