The Windward School is excited to share a significant moment in its story as the Board of Trustees announces the appointment of Alexis Pochna as Interim Head of School for the 2026–27 school year.
“As the board begins the search for a permanent head of school, we know the students, faculty and staff are in great hands with Alexis,” said Maria Reed, president of the board of trustees. “Her commitment to The Windward School and its students’ success was a driving force behind this exciting appointment.”
Decades of Dedication to Student Success
Alexis Pochna is a long-standing and integral leader within the Windward community, having spent the last 20 years serving and enriching the School. She began her career here as a classroom teacher and steadily grew into some of the most influential leadership roles within the organization. As campus head of the Westchester Lower School, she oversaw programming, faculty, student life, and daily operations for more than 300 students across grades 1 through 5, while leading the campus through its transition to an updated facility. As director of The Windward Institute, she expanded the School’s reach beyond the classroom, growing professional learning programs, cultivating research partnerships, and advancing the Institute’s mission on a national level.
Most recently, as associate head of school for academic programs, Alexis provided strategic leadership for the educational program at the heart of the School’s mission and reputation. Leveraging decades of institutional knowledge, she strengthened coherence, deepened the use of diagnostic data to elevate student learning, and guided the program’s continued evolution while preserving the defining qualities of a Windward education. She has partnered with leading researchers, presented at national conferences, including the International Dyslexia Association’s Annual Conference, and published articles on topics ranging from the science of reading to executive function. She brings to this role not only deep experience within the Windward community, but also genuine thought leadership in the field.
“I am honored to build on the school’s remarkable legacy as it continues to transform the lives of children and families while serving as a model for the education of students with language-based learning disabilities,” Alexis said. “I’m excited to lead the School in its celebratory 100th year and to help pave the path for the next century of impact and progress.”
Alexis holds master’s degrees in early childhood and elementary education and childhood special education from Bank Street College of Education, as well as a master’s in educational leadership from Fordham University. She also holds New York State certifications in school building leadership, special education, and general education PK-6. What positions Alexis as the right leader for this moment, however, goes beyond her credentials: it is her deep, lived commitment to the research-based, multisensory methods that define a Windward education.
A native New Yorker, Alexis lives with her husband, Peter, in Hastings-on-Hudson. When she’s not at Windward, she and Peter cherish time with their three grown children and enjoy hiking throughout the Hudson Valley and wherever their travels take them.
A Moment to Celebrate and to Look Ahead
Windward’s program — the structured, evidence-based curriculum that has helped 98% of our students return to mainstream schools — is embedded in our faculty, our classrooms, and our culture. The strength of The Windward School lives in the program, the people, and the unwavering commitment that brings both to life every day.
Alexis’s appointment ensures that commitment advances our mission as the Board begins a nationwide search process for a permanent head of school, to be appointed in summer 2027. Windward will announce the search committee and appoint a search firm later this summer.
As we look ahead to 2026–27, ushering in our 100th year serving students and providing life-changing learning, we do so with genuine excitement. Having devoted more than two decades to helping Windward students become confident, self-directed learners, Alexis steps into this role with the experience, institutional knowledge, and unwavering commitment needed to carry forward the school’s remarkable legacy for generations to come.
