Bank Street College of Education

Later on
Jan 14th, 2024

Oct 14th, 2023

Nov 2nd, 2018

My son has been apart of the Bank Street family for 9 years. Bank Steet has helped my son in so many ways and we are so grateful.
Jul 27th, 2018

I believe there are stories about Bank Street which other parents, potential parents and even students should be aware. I was a parent at the school for 10yrs and was involved in various school activities. At one time I was on the Director of Diversitys (DoD) Parent Advisory Board (PAB). This was a group of parents organized the school year after the The Post wrote a less than flattering article concerning the then DoD in July 2016. Prior and during various meetings of the PAB, the new DoD provided information to be used as a guide to think about being more inclusive of differing views: The Dangers of Echo Chambers on Campus by Nicholas Kristof and a YouTube video of Obamas farewell address from Chicago. Both the article and the speech talk about the dangers of retreating into our selective bubbles especially in our neighborhoods and learning institutions. ..we become so secure in our bubbles that we accept only information, whether true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence thats out there. Obama said. Great article and a great speech but just words. Bank Street doesnt stand behind those words and doesnt stand with people who do. When you want to truly help people, you tell them the truth but if you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. At one of the PAB meetings, the philosophies of Dr. Thomas Sowell, Harvard Grad (magna cum laude), MS Columbia and PhD Univ. Chicago and Jason Riley, Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal were introduced. The introduction was greeted with We know those philosophies and we reject them; we reject them by one of the parents. I doubt he really did. It would seem that the words from all the articles above were simply dismissed by a group of primarily whites rejecting the works of these influential black men simply because their writings did not fit the School's narrative. I can not understand people who say that minorities should be represented more broadly yet become irrational and repressive when a person of color represents a view differing from their own. I contacted Mr. Riley and he agreed to speak at the school and I even offered to pay his fee. At first, the DoD and the Dean offered to approve the engagement with the stipulation of a balanced dais. I asked both the Dean and the DoD if they'd be on the other side to which they declined and offered no recommendations. Funny how the two people who push the racial agenda were not confident enough to defend their curriculum to that of a well-educated, well-researched black man. How do you market yourself as a teacher of critical thinking while suppressing differing, well-researched views? Even the idea of inviting Mr. Riley to speak at the school was ultimately rejected after other parents petitioned against his speaking. The mob, which Nicholas Kristof had written, won. Separately, after the NY Post article, several families who were thought to be possible contributors to the write-up were ostracized and verbally chastised by some members of the community. I never understood why Bank Streets administrative staff didnt stand up to support those being mistreated. Although they talk of community, they left those parents, some of whom had been at the school for years, to fend for themselves against the mob. I never got the chance to ask the Dean how he felt when he found out that some parents from the Schools Parents of Kids of Color group petitioned against his hiring simply because of the color of his skin. They wrote a letter to the Hiring Committee to petition for one applicant over the other specifically because of race. What would have been the reaction if a group of parents had racially profiled a non-white? I also found the school weak in languages, sciences and athletics. All this after paying over $500k in after-tax tuition plus tutoring (which you will need) and donations for your child to attend K-8. There's more, but I'm limited in space.
Aug 10th, 2018