Symone Kiddoo says since joining NCAE, she has grown to understand the power of moving collectively.
“Before joining the union, I was acting as an individual school social worker trying to change things for my kids and largely failing,” said Symone, who works at Club Boulevard Elementary School in Durham. “Now I belong to the largest group of organized public school workers with the potential power to change the systems and institutions that make our lives harder.”
Symone said feelings of frustration and ineffectiveness led her to become a member during her second year as an educator seven years ago. Donald Trump had just been elected and families were scared to send their children to school because people were being kidnapped by Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents. “DAE had just won a campaign to stop the deportation of a student and I wanted to be involved in the type of organization that could win those types of real changes!”
Currently serving as president of the Durham Association of Educators and as the Region 5 director on the NCAE Board, Symone said she chose a career in public education as an extension of her work as an in-home therapist after earning her master’s degree. “I felt like I was always playing catch-up to help address the hurts and barriers my families were facing when interacting with the systems they had to deal with on a daily basis. I decided to enter the field of public education, as one of those systems, to try and make changes to better serve families in need.”
Symone has made a difference in the lives of many students by advocating for their needs and rights and by providing consultation and training to administrators and school personnel on issues related to the whole child such as behavior, classroom management, mental health, child abuse, neglect and other crises.
The work she does for students has enabled her to also serve as an advocate for herself, her colleagues and the profession. One of her most memorable advocating experiences came on May 16, 2018, when thousands of educators converged on downtown Raleigh for a rally and protest coordinated by NCAE. “Standing in the streets of Raleigh on May 16 leading a chant with a bullhorn as streams of public school workers and supporters moved around me is something I will always remember and a highlight of my time affiliated with the union. We were all moving together, chanting together and fighting together as one.”
Symone fully supports the role NCAE plays in ensuring students receive a quality education regardless of where they live, the income of their parents, the color of their skin or how they identify, and its role in restoring respect, dignity and adequate benefits and compensation for public school employees. She knows that the bright future of North Carolina’s public education system and public schools hinges on the continued work of the union and its members.
“As we move forward in this journey, my hope is every school-aged child is able to attend their neighborhood school, and that those schools have small class sizes and high-quality, culturally relevant curriculum. Also, that the schools are fully staffed and the staff have sustainable working conditions."
"In addition, I hope families are well connected to the schools and they serve as a hub for the entire community. Lastly, my hope is school districts are seen as major employers and every citizen feels a sense of responsibility to ensure our schools have what they need to be places where the next generation is cultivated.”
This is the sixth and final feature in the series on members who were part of the Panel of Professionals at Summer Leaders Conference. Although not an ESP, Symone was invited to participate in the panel to share her evolvement as a member and leader and the work she does as a social worker, which falls under Student Services. In this series, members shared their “WHY,” the importance of membership, and their work to help grow the union, lead the profession, and restore the promise of public schools and our democracy.
