As he explained the Poughkeepsie City School District’s theme for the 2025-26 school year, “The Urgency of Now,” Superintendent of Schools Gregory Mott encouraged the assembled faculty at The Bardavon 1869 Opera House Tuesday morning to “meet the moment.” 
He told them, “I do believe this is the moment that we can make a difference and begin to turn the tide and transform the Poughkeepsie City School District into a high-performing school district. And, I do believe the answer’s in the room.”
The district kicked off the 2025-26 school year with a dazzling welcome event at the historic city venue. Transporting many to The Bardavon via school bus – mimicking the experience many elementary students in the district will have for the first time Thursday morning – staff members walked through a lobby that included a tunnel of Poughkeepsie High School cheerleaders, displays of various team uniforms, and a backdrop set up for them to take group photos.
The program itself included the AFJROTC Color Guard leading the Pledge of Allegiance, a performance by the cheerleaders – who last week earned the “Leadership” award at a training camp attended by dozens of teams in Pennsylvania – and even a pair of songs performed by the district’s music department staff to close the show, which elicited a standing ovation from their colleagues.
Community Schools liaison Gilbert Colon served as emcee, and Board of Education President Bob Creedon offered remarks before Mott took the podium.
The superintendent, who officially took on the role July 1, walked the staff through the latest academic data available and explained how it informs their actions moving forward. He also detailed the latest draft of the district’s three-year strategic plan, which will be presented to the Board later this month, and how the entire school system will be held accountable to live by those ideals.
Finally, Mott shared with his team what they can expect out of him as a superintendent and what they can expect out of the district as a whole.
“There’s something powerful about new beginnings. New faces, fresh energy and renewed hope. I came to Poughkeepsie in 2020 because I believe in what’s possible when people unite around a shared purpose, high expectation and uplifting the next generation,” he said, before telling them the progress in that work must be accelerated this year. “Our students are counting on us.”
The keynote speaker was Dr. Ebony Green, an educator, author and founder of the Newburgh-based professional development organization Hello Kind Soul, who has worked with the district for the past year. Green’s message complemented Mott’s speech by adding additional context to the data he shared.
“We’re so fixated on the data that we forget the data is actual human lives,” she said. “We measure growth in numbers but we feel it in lives.
”While statistical results play a role, she encouraged everyone to, “when the data dries up,” spend time getting to know students to better inform the reasons for those statistics.
With photos of several children on the screen behind her, Green said, “The Urgency of Now is directly related to these beautiful faces.”