Poughkeepsie Day School is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, progressive,

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

school in the mid-

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

serving students from a broad region of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

from

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

12th grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

History

Founded in 1934, it was initially located at Hooker and South Grand Avenues in the city of

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Town of Poughkeepsie, New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie is in the Hudson River Valley region, midway between the core of the New ...

, where it began with 35 students and three faculty members. The school outgrew that facility, and in 1963, it moved to premises on the

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

campus at 39 New Hackensack Road. The school eventually outgrew that facility and in 1998 acquired two buildings from

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

that form its current 35 acre campus on Boardman Road. The main building is a former IBM briefing center, built in 1963. The school named it for Elizabeth Gilkeson, director from 1935 to 1949. The second is the historic Clarence Kenyon House, built between 1909 and 1913 and designed by the architect Percival Lloyd. In 2000, the school's theater and auditorium was dedicated in honor of the actor

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

, who funded its construction and whose son Flynn attended the school in the 1990s and early 2000s. The dedication predated the renaming of New York City's Cort Theater as the James Earl Jones Theater by 22 years. Jones and his wife, the actress Cecilia Hart, supported the school with fundraisers at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, including a 1998 reading from A. R. Gurney's

Love Letters A love letter is a romantic way to express feelings of love in written form. Love Letter(s) or The Love Letter may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Love Letters'' (1917 film), an American drama silent film * ''Love Letters'' ( ...

alongside the actress

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

. Other notables whose children or grandchildren attended the school include folk singer

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

, actors

David Strathairn David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John D ...

and William Sadler, singer/songwriter

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

, and the jazz drummer

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

. In April 2020, the school announced plans to close, citing a decline in enrollment and shrinking revenue, brought on by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2021, a coalition of parents, teachers, and alumni came together to keep the school open and plan a sustainable path forward. The school reopened for the 2021–22 academic year with lower tuition and a smaller enrollment, and remains open as of 2025.The school accepts applications from new students for grades pre-K through 12, with rolling admissions throughout the year. In 2022, the Town of Poughkeepsie explored a plan to purchase the school's property on Boardman Road and consolidate town offices. In June 2023, the town put that plan on hold. In January 2024, the school announced the launch of a new high school program called the Navigator Institute, focusing on three core values: Service, engagement, and self-efficacy. It is scheduled to launch with 9th grade in September 2026. The school officially became an

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

(IB) candidate school for the

IB Primary Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students aged 3 to 12. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle Years Programme, it is ...

(PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) in January 2025, with plans to become an authorized IB World School by September 2027.

Accreditation

Poughkeepsie Day School is accredited by the

New York State Association of Independent Schools The New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) is an association of 204 independent schools and organizations, ranging from nurseries to high schools, in New York (state), New York State. Founded in 1947, NYSAIS is the second la ...

(NYSAIS), and is a member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, board ...

(NAIS) and the Independent Curriculum Group (ICG).

Notable alumni and attendees

* Molly Baz * Ivan Cash * Celeste Dupuy-Spencer * Douglas Elmendorf * Virginia Page Fortna * Tom Finkelpearl *

Lauren Holmes Lauren Holmes is an American author and writer of short stories. She published her first collection of short stories, ''Barbara the Slut and Other People'', in 2015. Life Holmes was raised in the Hudson Valley in New York. She attended Wellesley ...

* Jonathan Keltz * Swati Khurana * Lucy Knisley *

Gavrik Losey Gavrik Losey (born 1938) is an American-born participant in various aspects of filmmaking including producer and production manager. Gavrik was born in New York, the son of film director Joseph Losey and fashion designer Elizabeth Hawes. He att ...

* Noah Lyon *

Jeh Johnson Jeh Charles Johnson ( "Jay"; born September 11, 1957) is an American lawyer and former government official. He was United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017. From 2009 to 2012, Johnson was the general counsel of the Departm ...

* Lee Miringoff, founder of the

Marist Poll The Marist Poll, founded in 1978, is a national public opinion poll operated by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion (MIPO) on the campus of Marist University in Poughkeepsie, New York. The poll was one of the first college-based public opin ...

* Molly Ostertag * John R. Ross *

Jonathan Russell Jonathan Russell (February 27, 1771 – February 17, 1832) was a United States representative from Massachusetts and diplomat. He served the Massachusetts's 11th congressional district, 11th congressional district from 1821 to 1823 and was the ...

* Jonah Sachs * Pril Smiley * Ingeborg von Zadow

Notable faculty and staff

Sally Luther Sara Luther Neumaier (née Fletcher; December 6, 1918 – February 3, 2015), known as Sally Luther, was an American politician. She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A newspaper reporter, she attended Vassar College. She served in the Min ...

* Eric Person

References

External links

Official website

About
{{authority control 1934 establishments in New York (state) Education in Poughkeepsie, New York Educational institutions established in 1934 Private elementary schools in New York (state) Private high schools in Dutchess County, New York Private middle schools in New York (state)