RG5 Graduate Programs

Historical Note

The Cooperative School for Student Teachers (later the Cooperative School for Teachers) was started in 1930. The Bureau of Educational Experiments began the teacher-training program as a joint venture with eight other experimental schools. Student teachers worked at one of these schools Monday through Thursday and came to Bank Street for classes, seminars and conferences from Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon.

One of the most important experiences for student teachers was something called the “long trip” — a field visit to some distant site designed to expose teachers to new experiences. From these field trips and from other sources grew the advisement process. Unique to Bank Street, the process features a senior member of the Bank Street faculty and several student teachers in an intense personal and professional examination of what it takes to be a good teacher. Advisement remains at the core of graduate programs to this day.

In the late 1930s, the Writers Laboratory grew out of Lucy Sprague Mitchell’s Cooperative School language classes. The Writers Laboratory brought together writers and educators to produce children’s literature informed by the new educational philosophy developed at Bank Street. Writers affiliated with the Lab include Margaret Wise Brown and Maurice Sendak.

Bank Street began to offer night and weekend courses for non-matriculated students in 1946. In 1950, the Cooperative School for Teachers was certified by the Board of Regents of New York State to offer the master of science degree in education and the Bureau was renamed Bank Street College of Education to reflect this change. The core curriculum remains the training of college graduates in the teaching of nursery and elementary school children. Over the years, the graduate programs have expanded to include offerings such as Museum Education, Administration and Supervision, Guidance, and Bilingual Education.

Scope and Content Note

The Graduate Programs records (26.4 cubic feet) are comprised of eight subgroups: Office of Admissions, Office of the Registrar, Office of Financial Aid, Academic Programs, Services for Students, Faculty and Staff, Office of the Dean, and Cooperative School for Student Teachers. Included in this record group are correspondence, proposals, program planning materials, course schedules and catalogs, Cooperative School for Student Teacher student files, and photo albums and scrapbooks of early Long Trips. Access to certain records may be restricted.

Descriptions

To search and read detailed descriptions of the series and lists of folder titles within each series, click the following link to access the guide for the entire record group.

Complete Guide to Record Group 5 – Graduate Programs (pdf)

The record group consists of the following subgroups and series.

SUBGROUP 1
Admissions Office

SERIES A – Correspondence and Reports (1962-1978)

SERIES B – Applications

SERIES C – Brochures and Prospectuses (1950s-1990s)

SUBGROUP 2
Office of the Registrar

Scope and Content Note

This subgroup contains the records of the registrar’s office, primarily from the tenure of Polly McMillan, who was registrar from 1966-1977.

SERIES A – Correspondence and Reports (1952 {1967-1977})

SERIES B – Catalogs

SERIES C – Course Schedules (1950s-1980s)

SERIES D – Commencement (1953-1977)

SUBGROUP 3
Office of Financial Aid

SERIES A – Correspondence and Reports

SERIES B – Pamphlets

SUBGROUP 4
Academic Programs (1955 – 2002)

Scope and Content Note

This subgroup consists of records pertaining to specific programs and courses offered by the Graduate School.

SERIES A – Correspondence and Reports (1965 {1970-1975})

SERIES B – Individual Programs (1960-1983)

SERIES C – Events (1955-2002)

SERIES D – Course Materials

SERIES E – Course Evaluations (1970 {1977-1979} 1980)

SUBGROUP 5
Services for Students (1970 – 2005)

Scope and Content Note

This subgroup consists of records pertaining to student advisement and job placement, as well as student handbooks.

SERIES A – Advisement (1975, 1980)

SERIES B – Student Manuals (1970-2005)

SERIES C – Placement Office

SUBGROUP 6
Faculty and Staff (1957 – 1996)

Scope and Content Note

This subgroup consists primarily of minutes and other records created by various faculty committees, arranged chronologically. Other limited records such as correspondence and union records are also included.

SERIES A – Correspondence and Reports

SERIES B – Faculty Meetings

SERIES C – Administrative Advisory Committee (1968-1977)

SERIES D – Child and Human Development Committee (1972-1982)

SERIES E – Curriculum Committee (1957, 1968-1976, 1993-1996)

SERIES F – Fiscal Committee (1971-1978)

SERIES G – Other Committees (1957{1972-1978})

SERIES H – Other Records (1963-1976, 1996)

SUBGROUP 7
Office of the Dean

Scope and Content Note

This subgroup includes the records of the Office of the Dean. The position of dean was officially created with the arrival of Gordon Klopf in the mid-1960s, and the majority of records are from Klopf’s tenure as Dean which ended in 1980. Associate Deans Donald St. John Parsons and Anne Smith are also well-represented.

SERIES A – Correspondence and Reports (1966-1991)

SERIES B – Proposals (1967-1977)

SERIES C – Programs (1974-1979)

SERIES D – Faculty and Staff (1972-1979)

SERIES E – Policies (1969, 1974)

SERIES F – Budget (1974-1977)

SERIES G – Speeches and Conferences (1967-1987)

SERIES H – Alumni Questionnaire (1970)

SUBGROUP 8
Cooperative School for Student Teachers (1930 – 1950)

SERIES A – Correspondence and Reports (1930-1949)

SERIES B – Academic Programs (1931-1950)

SERIES C – Student Files (1931-1950)

SERIES D – Faculty and Staff (1934-1950)

Controlled Access Headings