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Our Program

At Bank Street School for Children, students build the courage and confidence to think independently, work collaboratively, and understand themselves and others more deeply. Our curriculum is designed to help children grow academically while developing their sense of community and social responsibility. 

At the heart of everything we do is an understanding of what works best for children at each stage of their development. Our students are immersed in joyful learning experiences and age-appropriate challenges relevant to their lives. Our teachers know every child well and tailor their teaching to reach each learner by encouraging and facilitating student questioning, exploration, and discovery.

In our program, children’s natural curiosities are fueled through our dynamic, experience-based curriculum. Learning becomes an active, lifelong endeavor in which children and adults alike engage as careful observers, experimenters, and thinkers. Infused with vibrancy, energy, and enthusiasm, the School for Children helps students build the foundation for success in school and life. 

Learn more about our program below.

Explore the School for Children

  • Lower School (Preschool–First Grade)
    Student with chalk board and chalk on her nose

    Lower School (Preschool–First Grade)

    Where lifelong learning begins.

    With social studies at its core, the curriculum for 3- to 7-year-olds engages each child’s natural curiosity. Within a warm and child-centered classroom community, children build a sense of self and an understanding of others. Together, they explore the larger world, dive into new ideas, and reflect on their own learning.

    Lower School

  • Middle School (Second–Fourth Grade)
    Middle School boy working on a project

    Middle School (Second–Fourth Grade)

    Moving from curiosity toward mastery.

    The Middle School engages 6- to 10-year-olds in exploring the connections among disciplines. Students are encouraged to ask questions and move from concrete to abstract thinking. Children deepen their understanding of self and others through our Racial Justice and Advocacy curriculum.

    Middle School

  • Upper School (Fifth–Eighth Grade)
    Upper School students studying in Riverside Park

    Upper School (Fifth–Eighth Grade)

    Preparing for high school and beyond.

    In the Upper School, students acquire the skills to thrive in high school and beyond. Homerooms are team-taught by a math/science teacher and a humanities teacher, who encourage students to ask hard questions and think critically about the world and structures around them.

    Upper School

  • Diversity & Inclusion
    Four Middle School students together

    Diversity & Inclusion

    What potentialities in students do we want to develop?

    This question inspired Bank Street founder Lucy Sprague Mitchell continues to drive the School for Children more than a century later. Our work is based on the faith that human beings can improve the society they have created.

    Diversity & Inclusion

  • After School

    After School

    Building community and fostering learning.

    Children from different classrooms and age levels come together in extended-day programs that offer hands-on activities such as music, dance, cooking, drama, and outdoor play. There’s so much to do—from tap dance to chess, coding to Karate, woodworking to cooking, pottery to Super Science.

    After School

  • Summer Camp

    Summer Camp

    An enriching summer experience.

    Bank Street Summer Camp is composed of fun and educational programs for children ages 4 through 16. Programs include Early Childhood, Spanish Immersion, Musical Theater, Sports, STEAM, and Travel. Each program includes the Red Cross’s Learn to Swim Program.

    Summer Camp

Student teacher with 5/6s boy

Our Approach to Progressive Education

The Bank Street approach to progressive education develops thoughtful and productive citizens for a world that is increasingly fast-paced, global, and diverse. For students and their teachers, progressive education translates into a dynamic, experiential, inquiry-based curriculum that responds to the needs of the whole child at every stage of development.
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