Welcome to the PCSD Professional Development Page

Professional development refers to continuing education and training that involves individual and collective reflection that leads to improvement of practice. The Poughkeepsie City School District values its staff and understands the importance of staff engaging in a continuous process to expand their capacity to meet the varying and evolving needs of Poughkeepsie City School District students. Continuous, high-quality professional development is essential for this to occur.

The professional development site for the Poughkeepsie City School District describes a vision for adult learning that is collaborative, continuous, embedded in daily practice, and focused on the overall goal of improving student achievement, specific to literacy and numeracy across curricular areas, and supporting the social and emotional needs of PCSD students.

In addition to the main goal, PCSD professional development aims to increase knowledge and use of best practices, retain highly effective instructional staff, align practices across the district, and support a continuous professional learning community. The "community of practice" model -- where staff members work together to collectively refine their craft - builds on the momentum from prior school years and supports collaborative work focused on building a district-wide culture of literacy and numeracy. We are relentless in the pursuit of excellence for students and staff across the Poughkeepsie City School District. We strive to cultivate learning environments that support adult learning strategically linked to student outcomes through the growth of teacher and school leader practices. This will be updated frequently to provide meaningful opportunities for PCSD to access professional development that supports building capacity.

Staff Development Forms

Professional Development Opportunities - Out of District

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

Master's Program Opportunity for Staff

In the Advanced Inquiry Program from Miami University’s Project Dragonfly, students join a growing network of conservation leaders while gaining unprecedented opportunities not found in more traditional master’s programs. Online, at the zoo / botanical garden, and in their own backyards and neighborhoods, each student creates and engages in projects that affect positive social and ecological change to improve their communities, the environment, and the human condition.

Applications are being accepted until February 28 at http://AIP.MiamiOH.edu. Courses begin in May 2022.

To support involvement by a broad range of professionals, Miami University discounts tuition for participants accepted to AIP graduate courses. Enrollment is open to applicants with a bachelor’s degree, regardless of academic major or profession.

Applicants may contact the AIP Coordinator at the Wildlife Conservation Society / Bronx Zoo, Tara Chudoba, at tchudoba@wcs.org or 718-741-1682.