The mission of the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns is to empower students to make informed choices and assume responsibility for their own actions as they become self-directed, lifelong learners who are committed and able contributors to a sustainable local and global society. In partnership with our diverse community, we promote continuous growth through active engagement in a personalized learning environment characterized by high expectations and academic rigor in a climate of collaboration and mutual respect.

The Public Schools of the Tarrytowns stretch along the scenic east bank of the Hudson River, serving approximately 2900 students from the villages of Tarrytown and the legendary Sleepy Hollow. It is an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse district located approximately 25 miles north of New York City. Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow are culturally rich communities that offer the charm of historic Hudson River towns with the vibrancy of a living community. 

Students in each school are provided rigorous and comprehensive curriculum, enrichment, remediation, as well as AP course offerings and dual college enrollment opportunities.

The District’s schools are organized under the Princeton Plan - all students at a given grade level attend the same school. This approach helps to ensure a consistent academic experience for all. Our students attend five schools, located in four buildings: John Paulding Elementary School(Pre K-1), W.L. Morse Elementary School(1-2), Washington Irving Intermediate School(3-5), Sleepy Hollow Middle School (6-8), and Sleepy Hollow High School (9-12).

The Public Schools of the Tarrytowns is committed to ensuring that we remain a welcoming place for all students and their families and that we meet their individual educational needs. We have a culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse student population. Approximately 23% of the District’s students entered our schools learning English as a second language. The dominant native language for English Language Learners is Spanish. We see this diversity as our strength.  We have excellent professional development opportunities, mentoring for our newly hired teachers and there are opportunities for salary and career advancement. 

The Tarrytown District Equity Team

The Tarrytown District Equity Committee (DET) began meeting during the 2019/2020 school year with the explicit purpose of promoting a community that shares a language and commitment to equity and racial justice; affording representative stakeholders a voice in school/district climate; serving as an accountability mechanism for monitoring and addressing disparities in attendance, achievement, discipline, access, opportunity, and lived experience in the district; and auditing current curriculum, resources, policies, and practices for bias.  

The DET engaged in critical self and collective reflection, capacity-building, shared narrative and experience, and reviewed best practices and research on promoting equity and racial justice from districts around the country. Leveraging the brilliance of the community, the team settled on 5 top areas to design recommendations for the district:  Students, Curriculum, Professional Development, Communication and Hiring/Recruitment/Retention.