This month's Staff Spotlight is presented to Marcia Laidlaw and Brianna Riggs in honor of their hard work, dedication, and compassion for CCSD and our students!
Marcia Laidlaw is a highly experienced and accomplished girls' varsity volleyball coach at CCSD, with an impressive career spanning 48 years at Canastota and a total of 51 years. She has coached at various levels, including modified, JV, and varsity, and spent a decade coaching volleyball at MVCC. In 2004, she retired from Canastota after 32 years of teaching Physical Education.
Marcia graduated from Gouverneur High School and is a distinguished alumna of Jefferson Community College and SUNY Brockport, where she received her degree. She continued her education, completing post-graduate work at Cortland. Her dedication and hard work have earned her many achievements, including being chosen for the New York State Volleyball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame, achieving 40 league titles (Tri-Valley/Center State Conference), 18 sectional titles, and nine regional titles.
In addition to her accomplishments in girls’ varsity volleyball, in the past, Marcia has also led the Canastota boys’ varsity volleyball team to two Tri-Valley League Championships. She has been honored as Coach of the Year by the Mountain Valley Conference six times and by the NJCAA Region III four times. She was also inducted into the Section III Volleyball Hall of Fame, among many other accolades! She is looking forward to achieving her 900th win in volleyball next season!
Marcia takes great pride in the personal interactions she has with her players, which she finds rewarding and says “keeps her young.” Her passion lies in helping her players develop to their full potential and become accomplished young women.
Outside of coaching, Marcia indulges in several hobbies, including sports card-collecting, scrapbooking, reading, and attending various sporting events. She is a staunch supporter of the SF Giants, and loves cheering them on.
Brianna Riggs is a dedicated professional who feels privileged to have a career she is passionate about. From an early age, she knew that she wanted to work with children, which led her to pursue a degree in Early Childhood Education from SUNY Cortland.
During her teaching assignment at South Side Elementary with Katrina Mercer, she gained invaluable experience and learned many valuable lessons in a short amount of time. This experience further fueled her passion for teaching young children.
Brianna officially started her teaching career eight years ago at SSES as a long-term substitute in second grade. She then transitioned to a first-grade position at Peterboro Street, where she was welcomed with open arms. She considers herself fortunate to have had the opportunity to collaborate with the very best in her field since then.
Outside of work, Brianna enjoys baking, gardening, and spending quality time with her family. She is a true professional who is admired by her colleagues and loved by her students!
Congratulations to Marcia and Brianna on this well-deserved recognition!