Jeanette Stapley

Jeanette Stapley is a retired teacher with 33 years of experience in all grade levels.

Ms. Stapley’s teaching career began in New York State and took her to Mississippi and Kentucky, before returning. During that time, she experienced a multitude of teaching challenges. However, her students were her pride and joy, sharing more similarities than differences. The experiences taught her plenty, not the least of which was the importance of unions.

Upon returning to New York State, Ms. Stapley joined New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), beginning her journey as a union activist. During her teaching career, she served as local treasurer and president for the Schroon Lake Teachers Association. For 20 years, she was a teacher member on the North Country Teacher Resource Center Policy Board (NCTRC) and served as chair of the NYSUT Statewide Committee. As an appointed political action coordinator for the 45th Senatorial District, she was responsible for helping to organize political activities. She currently serves on the NCTRC Board as a retiree representing Essex County, and as the Election District 9 Director on the NYSUT Board of Directors.

Fortified with the values instilled by her parents, combined with an enthusiasm for teaching, Ms. Stapley enjoyed many years filled with adventure and abundant teachable moments.

Throughout this time, the union provided unlimited paths for professional and personal growth. The foundation that began with family was built upon by union opportunities – and both helped her sustain lifelong careers as an educator and unionist. Growing up in a small village in the Mohawk Valley, her father, a machinist, and her mother, a homemaker, raised eight children – four boys and four girls. From an early age, she and her siblings were taught the fundamental values of education and lifelong learning. After the completion of high school, each one pursued college degrees. Collectively, all attended and graduated from Siena, St. Lawrence, Harvard, SUNY schools at Albany, Oneonta, Plattsburgh and Potsdam, and UNM Law School. Their chosen paths led them to become teachers, a college professor, a psychologist, a financial consultant, a computer programmer, a nurse and a lawyer.