When Chapter Leader Debbie Strack Cregan returned to work at PS 69 in Jackson Heights, Queens, in the spring of 2023 following medical leave for knee replacement surgery, she didn’t recognize her school.

“It was like I was dropped into another place,” said Strack Cregan, who has been the chapter leader for 16 years.

A former assistant principal had been appointed principal just before Strack Cregan began her leave in January. When she got back, Strack Cregan said, “everyone was on edge.”

PS 69 members complained to her about issues with communication, curriculum, micromanagement, professional learning, school culture and data.

“The school building became very heavy,” said UFT Delegate Lisa DiSunno, who handled the chapter leader responsibilities in Strack Cregan’s absence. “It became a place you didn’t want to go to.”

Strack Cregan failed in her effort to establish a “professional” relationship with the new principal. “To be successful in any leadership role, you have to be collaborative,” she said. “The new principal wasn’t.”

Just as she was about to take another medical leave for her second knee replacement in October 2024, the members began to organize, with the support of UFT District 30 Representative Ashley Rzonca and UFT chapter advocates Latoya Lebby and Monique Greene.

Since Nov. 4, members have shown their unity by wearing black to school every Monday.

Word got to the superintendent, who called a meeting with the staff. About 60 of the school’s 94 UFT members turned out for the after-school meeting, with Strack Cregan attending via Zoom.

At a follow-up meeting in January, Strack Cregan, DiSunno and Rzonca met with the superintendent and the principal and hashed out a resolution for each issue raised at the November meeting.

Finally, working conditions began to improve. The staff lounge was moved from a closet to an empty classroom, something that the principal had opposed. Data meetings were discontinued. Schedules were changed so staff no longer had lunch periods at 9:30 a.m. Special education teachers in ICT and self-contained classes received one additional IEP prep each week.

Things are not perfect, said Strack Cregan, who plans to retire at the end of this school year, “but there has been progress.”

DiSunno, who plans to run for chapter leader next school year, said PS 69 members feel more empowered now. “We found our voice and aren’t afraid to use it,” she said.