With much jubilee for the start of the 2024-25 school year, the Poughkeepsie City School District welcomed staff back on Tuesday to a host of speakers and professional learning opportunities.

Day One of the Superintendent Conference Days opened with a convocation, celebrating the start of the new school year and welcoming district employees.

A welcome from Board of Education President Fatimah Carmen Martinez Santiago energized the audience as she engaged them in a call-and-response exercise before speaking about the importance of the district's work on addressing the needs of students.

Mayor Yvonne Flowers welcomed the staff back by sharing her journey as a former Poughkeepsie district student. She explained how, if it were not for teachers and administrators, she would not be who she is today. She encouraged the audience to maintain their commitment to the city's children so that they would have greater opportunities to succeed.

Sen. Rob Rolison closed out the Welcomes by celebrating a new chapter in the district and the staff who will be responsible for writing the successes students will attain this school year.

Dr. Eric Jay Rosser, superintendent of schools, pointed out the district employees do not stand alone in this work, highlighting that champions at the Board of Education, city, and state levels are also positioned to actively engage in the work of bettering the outcomes of district students.

Dr. Ebony Green, CEO of Cornerstone Equity Consultants, served as the keynote speaker. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in leading schools, organizations and people, she helps audiences understand complex ideas and simplifies in a way that everyone, irrespective of difference, can find a space to connect, learn, grow and build. 

Upon taking the stage, Green thanked the audience for their choosing to become "superheroes" to the children they committed to serve, reminiscing on the time when we all had educators who championed our success. "When you go through the course of your year and you struggle or feel stressed, I need you to know that you are special and you are appreciated," Green said.

Filled with personal introspection, Green's keynote address touched upon the essence of being of service to others and being mindful of yourself (growth and well-being) in the process. Salient to this theme was an emphasis on the importance of self-reflection with the intention of transforming into better versions of ourselves through the learned experiences and interactions with peers and students.

"Reflection really matters, because if we don't reflect we can miss it. If we don't allow people to inform our process, we become lost," she said. She also discussed the importance of finding time to rejuvenate while being of service to students, noting that without the energy to press forward our value as team members and educators will not yield the best results. 

Green concluded by thanking the audience again for their commitment as educators.

In the closing message, Rosser reinforced that this year the district will deepen its focus on students' success, while also focusing on those that facilitate student learning and positive youth development – PCSD employees.

He announced that the Board of Education has authorized funding for each school for staff wellness, staff half-day professional learning opportunities being incorporated into the district calendar, and an extended winter break for instructional staff to find space to rejuvenate.

He also pointed out that while there is a great amount of work that still needs to be achieved for the district to fulfill its mission, there are several accomplishments worth noting that are evidence that the district's school, home and community approach to addressing the needs of students is working. Some of the recent accomplishments include:

• Morse transitioning from a school in "Receivership" to a school in "Good Standing."
• Clinton achieving "Good Standing" status, which resulted in all PCSD elementary schools being in that status for the first time in 13 years.
• Warring's continued success, highlighting preliminary 2023-24 3-5 NYSED State Assessment Math data for fifth-grade students, which indicate the percentage of students proficient surpassed the state average by 6%.
• Eighty-five percent of eighth-grade students at Poughkeepsie Middle School who took the Algebra I Regents passed.
• Seventy-eight percent of Poughkeepsie High School graduating seniors were accepted into a college and planned to attend.

Day Two on Wednesday included district employees continuing their professional learning before Thursday’s welcoming of students back to school.

The complete schedule for Poughkeepsie’s Superintendent Conference Days is available online.