New faces and familiar faces in new places greeted students in some district schools this fall.

Three of the district’s five elementary schools have a new assistant principal this year, with two moving from one elementary school to another over the summer. The Poughkeepsie High School has one new assistant principal and another who returned to the role after a little more than a year at the middle school. And, the middle school has a new interim principal.

Each elementary move benefits the schools involved, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Gregory Mott said.

Melissa Barrow is the new assistant principal at the Early Learning Center. Mott said she “brings a wealth of experience to the district,” having served as an assistant superintendent of student programs, assessment, and evaluation in the East Ramapo Central School District, where she spent 10 years.

“In that role, she created and assisted with implementing a robust English Language-Learner program,” Mott said. “We thought her experience with that would help with us further building upon our dual-language program, which has been well-received.”

She replaces Paul Weir, who is now assistant principal at Morse Elementary, a move that Mott said adds balance to the leadership of a large elementary school.

“It’s more of a diverse building, as well, so we wanted to have a diverse administrative team to be reflective of the students they are servicing and the parents they need to speak to,” he said.

He replaces Yolanda Wright, who is now assistant principal at Warring Elementary. She filled the role created by David Feliciano’s departure. He noted, Wright began her time in the Poughkeepsie district under Principal Nicole Penn at Warring.

“That combination worked very well together, in terms of planning for the building, analyzing the data, operationally, instructionally, community-based, they worked well,” he said.

At the high school, Robert Parkes returned as an assistant principal after serving as interim middle school principal since May 2023. He is working directly with the sophomore class this year, while Donata Carolina is with the freshmen, Cecil Coston is with the junior class – the same group of students he worked with a year ago – and Joseph Mazzetti remains the senior class principal.

Parkes was replaced at the middle school on an interim basis by assistant principal Felicia Schinella.

Principal Dr. Phee Simpson said Parkes brings experience to the building.

“He knows the incoming ninth graders. He’s able to share his wealth of knowledge,” she said. “He’s been an integral part of the math program, too. They’ve been happy to have him back.”

Felix Contreras started as the new assistant principal of school climate and culture in July, filling a position that was open for much of the back-half of last year.

Simpson said Contreras has “brought fresh new ideas to the position and a friendly face for students to connect to around the building.

“The climate and culture of any organization is very important. But having the right person in place makes a big difference in changing the atmosphere,” she said. “This year, we are focusing on bringing inclusivity to the building and learning about one another's culture. So, there is mutual respect for all.”