Contact: Sandra Moore, director of development and communications (extension 110)

Poughkeepsie, NY- Bernadette Condesso, a history teacher at Poughkeepsie Day School, has been awarded four separate grants for the summer of 2007 and the 2007-2008 school year. Three of her grants are underwritten by the National Endowment for the Humanities and one is an award from the Community Foundation of Dutchess County.

The first professional development grant supports her participation in the National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American History and Culture workshop, FDR and the World Crisis, at the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. The second professional development grant is for a Teaching American History workshop at Marist College, Social Movements, Social Justice, and the Expansion of American Democracy. The third is a Facing History and Ourselves Summer Seminar, Race and Membership in the United States.

The Community Foundation of Dutchess County awarded Ms. Condesso a Partners in Education grant for her 2007-2008 course, The Civil Rights Movement, which is one of the offerings in Poughkeepsie Day School's innovative central study program. The module of study will include an in-depth analysis of the civil rights movement with a focus on civil rights as a preventative for genocide. Through an in-depth study of the movement students will be aware that the more a country embraces civil rights for all of its citizens, the less likely genocide will occur. Students will engage in textual analysis, attend lectures by guest speakers and travel to local sites of historical relevance in connection with the civil rights movement and the Schoenberg Center in New York City. Students will develop a Web site demonstrating mastery of the materials under study and implement a collaboration with local area schools to discuss current civil rights issues and the impact of the civil rights movement in promoting discussion and change regarding the rights of all American citizens, as embodied in the Constitution. In the central studies program at Poughkeepsie Day School students in grades 7-12 have the opportunity to choose from a variety of interdisciplinary courses, which combine group work with independent, in-depth explorations.

Founded in 1934, Poughkeepsie Day School enrolls 325 students in grades pre-kindergarten through grade 12 from 48 communities in the mid-Hudson Valley. It is distinguished by its interactive and interdisciplinary approach to learning and emphasis on the development of creative and critical thinking skills.

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May 15, 2007

Contact: Sandra Moore, director of development and communications (extension 110)

Poughkeepsie, NY- Rebekah Judson, a senior at Poughkeepsie Day School, has been awarded the prestigious Bronfman Youth Fellowship. She is among only twenty six Bronfman Fellows chosen from among high school applicants from the United States and Canada who underwent a rigorous selection process and represent diverse Jewish backgrounds. The Fellows will participate in an intensive five-week study and travel program in Israel this summer, designed to develop future community leaders committed to Jewish unity. The program is funded by The Samuel Bronfman Foundation (TSBF).

"The Samuel Bronfman Foundation is committed to programs that make Judaism relevant to young Jews from all backgrounds," said TSBF Managing Director Adam R. Bronfman. "Bronfman Fellows gain a special opportunity to explore their Jewish identity in fresh ways. The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel offers a powerful experience that, as 20 years of success show, can last a lifetime."

Judson, daughter of Nancy and Bruce Judson of Poughkeepsie, has been involved in a variety of activities at Poughkeepsie Day School, including the school's chapter of Youth Against Discrimination, the Poughkeepsie Day School Board of Trustees' Diversity Committee, Sidereal (an a cappella group) and the PDS Jazz Ensemble. She helped organize a weeklong women's rights awareness event at the school, and recently helped to plan and host a school-wide gathering dedicated to world leaders in peacemaking and civil rights. Last summer she traveled to southern Louisiana with the American Jewish Society for Service and spent six weeks rebuilding the homes of hurricane victims in rural communities. Judson's poems have been published in various anthologies, including the collection of Hebrew-language student writing "Tov Lichtov," as well as the literary journal Hanging Loose. Rebekah spent the past year creating and co-teaching a course on Modern and Experimental Poetry and will also have an essay on Ukraine identity published in the summer 2007 issue of the prestigious quarterly review of essays by students of history, The Concord Review. An active member of Temple Beth El, Poughkeepsie, she is a graduate of the Community Hebrew School of Dutchess County, where she also recently served as a Hebrew language tutor and teaching assistant.

Founded in 1934, Poughkeepsie Day School enrolls 325 students in grades pre-kindergarten through grade 12 from 48 communities in the mid-Hudson Valley. It is distinguished by its interactive and interdisciplinary approach to learning and emphasis on the development of creative and critical thinking skills. For more information, contact Sandra Moore, office of development and communications at 845-462-7600, extension 110.