Leighann Ciferri is a dedicated 22-year employee of the Poughkeepsie City School District and union president of local 3209. She is passionate about being a strong advocate for the students and families she works with, the members she represents and the Poughkeepsie community she calls home.
In her role as a teaching assistant, Leighann works with young “students with exceptionality”-students whose learning or behavior requires specialized instruction or accommodation to thrive. She supports between 4-5 students in a classroom with instruction and with developing specific skills. She supports students with Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) fulfill their educational requirements like completing standardized testing through testing software. Leighann loves being a teaching assistant “it’s what I’m meant to do.” Her favorite moments are when a lesson finally “clicks with a student. This leads to “lots of hugs” from students and the joy of them “thinking you’re amazing!”
The City of Poughkeepsie and its school district face many challenges. The poverty rate in the city is higher than the national average. Furthermore, the district is one of the most impoverished school districts in New York State with 86 percent of its students meeting federal poverty guidelines. The district has also seen an influx of students whose first language is not English.
Despite these challenges, Leighann believes in every child she works with. “Children come into this world with unlimited potential. No matter where they come from, they come with potential.”
Leighann is deeply committed to the Poughkeepsie community and raised her own family in Poughkeepsie. “This is my community. I work in the district I live in.” She wanted her children to be educated in a “diverse” environment and knew that thanks to their education “they would be ok no matter who they walked through life with.” Leighann proudly states that her “children are a product of this system” and all are “good human beings.” “Poughkeepsie added to them being good human beings.”
Leighann says, “great things are happening at the district.” Additionally, she wants students to have exposure to things outside the district, more field trips, and more cultural experiences to help them be well rounded. “Kids have the ability. They need exposure.” “I want what’s best for these children, what’s best for my community.”
Leighann’s first experience with unions was through her husband, a letter carrier and member of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). On her first day on the job, her husband told her “you have to join the union!”
Years later, a union leader asked her to be a part of the negotiations team because she was a “good talker.” Sitting through negotiations Leighann felt, “we weren’t treated as important as I thought we were.” The paras, health aides and library aides who work directly with students were treated like the “bottom of the food chain.” “I know how important and needed we are.” “Paras are essential” to “teachers and families.”
During her first negotiation, she realized how much the contract gives employees “a voice”. “Representation makes sure everyone has a voice”
Leighann also realized that “organizing is her wheelhouse.” She works diligently to get members involved in the union. With every new employee, Leighann talks them through their contract and their job description. Leighann also likes to remind her members that she alone is not the powerful tool. The “contract is the powerful tool.”
One serious workplace challenge has been short staffing. Not surprisingly, Leighann finds that pay has played a major role in the staffing shortage. Many of her members work multiple jobs and need support from social services. “Who is their best self when they work two full time jobs?”
The staffing shortage has been especially prominent among staff who work with students with exceptionalities. This creates an unsafe, untenable situation for students and staff. The students need help with toileting, feeding and being transported. As Leighann points out, “How many wheelchairs can one person push at a time?”
In response, Leighann helped secure a historic 10% off contract raise for members. She said members were “very happy” and felt like they were being valued.
Leighann’s advice is to “work for places that value their employees.” “With my union I’m used to having a voice.” She wants union members to remember that the “most important member of the union is them.” “Be your own voice.” And once they have found their voice to “use it loudly to help other vulnerable people.”
Her hope for her students is that they outgrow her and use their voices to stand up for themselves, stand up for their Poughkeepsie community and of course participate in a union.