Poughkeepsie Day School

My family's experience at PDS has been wonderful. I have lived in Poughkeepsie for my entire life and attended a similar, private school as a child that is no longer in operation. I hoped for my children to have the same opportunity and we had the chance to send my 6 and 8 year-old to PDS starting last year. The staff is dedicated and passionate about the whole child, demonstrating personal concern for the educational, social, and behavioral development of my son and daughter. The community of parents have been incredibly welcoming and engaging, working closely with the administration toward common goals and values. Most importantly, my children are happy and their academic abilities have excelled.

I am so thankful for the community that Poughkeepsie Day School has provided our family! Our son attended from Kindergarten (2017) through 2020, and then re-enrolled in 2022 to present. Throughout, we have had such amazing student-centered learning experiences that has made him so confident and curious, not afraid to express his feelings or embrace challenges or creative outlets. His experiences are so much better than our own back in public school in the 80s and 90s, and I cannot imagine today. Right now PDS is a small school and merged classrooms of 2-grades is common, but in every instance it has benefited our son to either be exposed to older “mentors” and learning materials or to be the class or group leader. The small size is a challenge for some services and for team sports, but we’re managing any shortcomings well with extracurricular sports and keeping in touch regularly with teachers and school leaders. The PA in particular has a small but very active group of families that really push for student needs. Students are given many opportunities each year to connect learning to the real world, not just in the many relevant school trips and experiences organized as part of the curriculum but also in how that curriculum is brought to life in lessons and events that infuse learning with real experiences. They’ve had CIA students visit and lead a series of classes, they’ve visited farms and historical sites, and they brought those lessons back into the class every time. Finally, I believe the students are exposed to wonderful teachers and staff, and in our experience they have encouraged exploration, curiosity and play in a way that we want for our kids.

My two daughters started at PDS last year and it was been a great experience. The school is small which allows for a high degree of careful and customized attention while also developing community and socio-emotional learning. The school embodies values of respect, care, curiosity, place, inclusivity and community. The teachers are top notch and lean into the inquiry-based learning model that connects students to place and the real-world through experiential learning as well as supporting their innate curiosity. I also think they have the right amount of age-mixing in 2-year cohorts. Highly recommend.

We chose PDS because we like its approach in that it focuses on the whole person, and less on rote learning as we saw in public school. This is our third year and our child thrives in this progressive education environment. Project based learning allows her to explore a topic through interdisciplinary studies and her curiosity is encouraged and fostered. We are constantly amazed at how PDS partners with local businesses and organizations. Just one example, our child loves the garden and when the culinary students visit. Everyone learns so much about sustainability and the school puts it into daily practice. Over the past year, the leadership team has successfully catapulted PDS into the future and it is exciting. Our child is set up for success even as a lower school student. We are so happy we found PDS!

We moved to the Hudson Valley from New York City in 2021, and after sending our child first to a public school for Kindergarten, we enrolled her in Poughkeepsie Day School’s first-grade class. She’s now heading into third grade and has thrived. She’s an enthusiastic reader, loves math, and enjoys all the many ways the school’s programs encourage her creative side, from music to drama to an after-school dance club. She comes home nearly every day talking enthusiastically about something creative she has done that day. There have been many field trips to local institutions, and to parks and museums. And this year included several important partnerships, including an impressive one with the Culinary Institute of America. School leadership has outlined an impressive roadmap to the future. And the parents have formed a tightly-knit community that supports each other. There’s never been a better time to take a closer look at this school.