Dear Poughkeepsie City School District Community, 

It is with a heavy heart that I share that I will be resigning from my position as Superintendent of the Poughkeepsie City School District, effective June 30, 2025, as my time leading the district has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Over the past five years and seven months, I have been honored and privileged to work alongside incredible educators, staff, families and community members — all deeply committed to championing the success of our children.

Leading the district’s transformation efforts has been both a blessing and a privilege, and I remain incredibly proud of the progress we have made together.

Together, we developed and implemented the district’s 5-Year Strategic Plan, focusing on:

• Student Achievement

• Resource Stewardship

• Internal Processes, Systems, and Structures

• Organizational Effectiveness

While important work remains, our shared vision and collaborative efforts have led to significant improvements across each strategic focus area. Accomplished milestones include and are not limited to:

Student Achievement

• Implementing a systems thinking methodology to improve student outcomes.

• Adopting research-based curriculum that has led to increases in grades 3–8 proficiency rates in ELA and Math.

• Implementing a pre-K to 12 College and Career Readiness framework, increasing college and career exposure, expanding student enrollment in dual credit and career technical courses, and cultivating a district-wide culture of college and career readiness.

• Improving New York State accountability designations — for the first time in 13 years, all elementary schools are in “Good Standing.”

• Expanding universal pre-K from half- to full-day programming and increasing seats to over 200 pre-K students across five community-based organizations.

• Enhancing student instructional and social-emotional supports, including elementary school librarians, social workers, mental health staff, culturally rich library books, out-of-school learning opportunities and student extracurricular programs.

• Creating a dual language program and expanding support for ENL and Students with Interrupted Formal Education.

• Reinvigorating arts education throughout the district, resulting in elementary, middle and high school theatrical performances.

• Expanding the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) program to support the leadership potential of high school students. 

• Establishing a Community Schools framework, strengthening student, parent, and community engagement.

• Working collaboratively to establish the Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet, bringing together community of leaders and institutions across sectors, to address Poughkeepsie's pervasive intergenerational challenges of poverty and educational inequities.

• Creating the Poughkeepsie City School District Parent Empowerment Center.

• Strengthening relationships with taxpayers, businesses, philanthropic organizations, higher education and city/county government.

• Increasing school-home-community collaboration by implementing a shared leadership model that elevates student, parent, staff and community voice.

Resource Stewardship

• Resolving a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, addressing longstanding financial challenges.

• Stabilizing district finances, expanding capacity to grow student programs and support.

• Establishing fiscal reserve accounts to support future operations and facility improvements.

• Securing more than $11 million in competitive grant funding since 2021.

Internal Processes, Systems and Structures

• Increasing organizational efficiency, creating processes and structures aligned with district goals.

• Implementing systems to ensure compliance, spread quality across schools, and sustain improvements.

• Executing an equity plan to address disparities in employee compensation, student supports and school resources.

• Enhancing internal and external communication, ensuring transparent, two-way stakeholder engagement.

Organizational Effectiveness

• Increasing academic, operational and fiscal performance.

• Addressing a decades-old parent aspiration by laying the foundation for pre-K to 5 transportation, ensuring greater safety and equity for the district’s youngest learners.

• Launching a $154 million Strong Schools Equal Strong Communities Capital Improvement Project to transform all schools.

• Designing and implementing a $5.7 million Energy Performance Project.

• Transforming student learning through a $4.5 million pre-K to 12 student furniture replacement project and a $3.8 million district-wide instructional technology project, achieving 1:1 instructional device access and classroom technology improvements.

These accomplishments, along with many more, would not have been possible without the steadfast support of our Board of Education and the hard work and dedication of every PCSD employee, parent, student and community member.

The depth of my gratitude cannot be fully captured in words. I remain humbled and inspired by the Power of Us and what we have achieved together for the students of the Poughkeepsie City School District.

I look forward to seeing the district’s continued success in championing, inspiring, nurturing and preparing all students to embark on individual paths to success.

I remain fully committed to ensuring a seamless transition and will continue to support the district’s mission in the months ahead. Effective July 1, 2025, Mr. Greg Mott, assistant superintendent of elementary education, will serve as acting interim superintendent. The Board of Education will provide updates as it moves forward in selecting the district’s next superintendent.

Thank you for the honor and privilege of serving the Poughkeepsie City School District and this extraordinary community.

Yours in Education,

Eric Jay Rosser, PhD

Superintendent

Poughkeepsie City School District