OCTOBER 1998

Four years ago we conceived of Founders’ Day as a way to bring the PDS community together in an annual celebration of our unique history. To be sure, there have been many events throughout our history that have brought the school’s students, parents, alumni/ae and friends together. Indeed, the idea itself is certainly not a new one. But as far as I know, this was the first attempt at PDS to institutionalize this tradition in an annual event set aside for this purpose. 

The occasion for that first Founders’ Day was our sixtieth anniversary celebration. Elizabeth Gilkeson, first director of PDS and herself one of the founders, spoke of her work at PDS and of the impact that her time here had on her subsequent and notable accomplisments at the Bank Street School for Children and throughout the world of education. It was in her honor that we establilshed the Elizabeth Gilkeson Lecture, most recently delivered by Dr. Peter Relic last Saturday evening.

Those who joined in the festivities on our first Founders’ Day indicated an interest in returning each year and building on the “tradition” that we had begun. This year, our thoughts of what this event might become exceeded our wildest expectations. More than 300 people converged on the school last Saturday evening for the rededication of Poughkeepsie Day School.

What transpired was far more than a rededication. It was a reaffirmation of who we are as a community and of what the school has stood for during the past sixty-four years. For me, the power of Founders’ Day 1998 was much more than the sum of the events planned for the evening. The ribbon-cutting ceremony; the recognition of Kathy and Joe Corrigan for establishing the Michael P. Corrigan Memorial Golf Tournament; the reception with our own piano trio-in-residence, Innisfree; the dedication of the Chapman Room; the tribute to Dwight Paine for his twenty-five years of service; Jonathan Heiles’ compilation of PDS stories and history; the harmony of our a cappella singers; the inspirational Gilkeson lecture deliverd by Dr. Relic; the extraordinary fireworks display: all contributed to a sense of history and community that are beyond the capability of language to fully describe. For those of you who were with us last Saturday, thanks for helping to make the day such a memorable and powerful occasion. Your spirit helped to define the evening.

Founders’ Day traditions will continue and we soon will begin to organize next year’s event: Saturday, September 25. If you want to help plan Founders’ Day 1999, please let me know.

Though the power of Saturday’s events was clearly in the recognition and reaffirmation of our own history and community, Dr. Relic’s address also brought a recognition of the role that we play within the broader independent school world. I encourage you to learn more about your National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), to which we belong and in which we actively participate. Both have web sites, complete with information about the associations and the schools they represent. I think you will particularly enjoy the articles written by Dr. Relic at www.nais-schools.org/inform/press and by Fred Calder, Executive Director of NYSAIS, at www.nysais.org.

Throughout the year I will share some of my own thoughts about PDS and on important educational practices and policy issues. If there is something that you would like to hear more about, let me know either by phone or e-mail: tonyb@idsi.net. I also will try to find the article written by former Day School director, Leo Opdyke, that Dr. Relic mentioned. If I find it, I will include it along with my November letter. In the meantime, I am sending along a statement on independent schools that I recently received from NAIS. It is a good introductory summary of key elements that help define independent schools such as ours.

Finally, I cannot end this letter without a special thanks to all of you at PDS--students, parents, faculty members and trustees--for helping to get this year off to what by all accounts is the best in recent memory. The history of PDS is indeed a wonderful and unique one. But there is still much to do--”miles to go before we sleep”. Together, we have the opportunity to build on what the architects of our past have accomplished and to help make history as we shape the future of our school. I look forward to the journey, and welcome my fellow travelers.

Sincerely,

Tony Buccelli