Kriti Mehrotra
Netflix’s ‘The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping’ delves into the operations of one such program, the Academy at Ivy Ridge, affiliated with the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP). It not only sheds light on the challenges faced by individuals enrolled in these programs but also scrutinizes the roles of various leaders as well as staff members within the organization. Amongst them was actually the Shift Supervisor for the girl’s dormitory Florence Dedekker, or Miss Siss – so now, if you simply wish to learn more about her, here’s what we know.
Who is Florence “Siss” Dedekker?
It was back in the early 2000s that Florence took a job at the Academy at Ivy Ridge in her small town hometown of Ogdensburg in New York to support her family. She did gradually realize that the troubled teens or “units” enrolled there didn’t get the care, privacy, or respect they needed, yet she continued on because it served her own purpose. She was strict, she was harsh, she was mean herself too, per the documentary series, but it was the entry strip searches that she really got into. She was always the one involved in them to ensue no student was smuggling anything inside.
In Florence’s own words, cell phones were one of the main personal items teens often brought in by literally shoving it inside them, so yes, she did always make them jump up and down and cough. However, she then conceded she had a problem too, a problem that had to do with the openly gay students in the dorm, yet she never got a chance to elaborate on the same. This wouldn’t be too surprising though as several former students, including Alexa Brand, have since come forward to claim they were sexually assaulted by staff members there – Florence may or may not have been one of them.
Where is Florence “Siss” Dedekker Now?
Once the Academy at Ivy Ridge shut down in 2009, Florence moved on with her life to the best of her abilities while still residing in her hometown of Ogdensburg, right near the international borders with Canada. From what we can tell, she still lives there, right alongside her loving partner, caring family, long-term friends, and an overall sound support system. She’s not very public regarding any aspect of her personal or professional live at the moment, yet we do know, she appears to be doing well these days, which is all that matters in the long run.
