Giving to the Family Center

Who we are and what we do:

The Family Center is a nonprofit, inclusive childcare center and a home and community based special education program, located at Bank Street College of Education. The Center is designed to provide developmentally oriented, culturally sensitive childcare and special education services for children from 6 months to four years. This type of inclusive childcare is one of only a handful of programs in Manhattan that provides services and childcare for infants, toddlers and preschoolers with and without disabilities in the same classroom. Our home and community based program brings special education services into children‚s homes and a variety of other types of typical early childhood programs throughout Manhattan, increasing the Family Center‚s capacity to create supporting and inclusive services in the community for children with disabilities. In addition the Family Center provides evaluations for children three to five years of age to determine eligibility for special education services.

The Center is a training site for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as high school interns. We use a comprehensive model of reflective supervision for the all teachers in the program. All teachers participate in individual and group supervision on a weekly basis. This type of intensive supervision reinforces teacher‚s knowledge and helps create "community of practice" that nurtures teacher‚s skills and working knowledge of child development, curriculum planning, supporting families and the unique needs of each child and family.

You and the Family Center Mission

We invite you to partner with the Family Center through your gift. This gift assists the Family Center to realize its mission:

To create a warm, nurturing and educational learning environment for all children
To prepare teacher and social workers to work in meaningful and connected ways with children and families
To be a demonstration site for visitors throughout the world.

Ways Your Gift sustains the Family Center

Gifts to the Bank Street Family Center Annual Fund for the 2006-07 school year will supports the additional resources the Family Center needs to support its mission:

Increase the financial aid for socio-economic diversity
Increase teacher support for professional development
Hire support staff so teachers can meet, plan and attend supervision meetings.
Support the hiring and training of at risk teenagers to work in early childhood programs for job training and to introduce them to care options
To maintain an environment with all the necessary resources, materials and equipment to nurture healthy development of young children and their families.