Conferences & Institutes

Teaching Kindergarten Conference: Where Did the Garden Go?

2024: Creating a Classroom with Purpose, Connection, Compassion, and Joy

Online
Friday, March 8 from 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM ET
Saturday, March 9 from 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET

How do kindergarten teachers support all children to become resilient and compassionate learners in these challenging times?  What “new and old findings” encourage the healthy social/emotional, cognitive and physical development of kindergarten children?  Join us as we explore these questions and more. Learn how to meet district mandates while creating a classroom that values each child and builds on their interests. Feel the JOY!

“ Each generation, each decade, must shape its education in the light of new and old findings about children, learning and the evolving demands of society.” – Dorothy Cohen, The Learning Child, 1972

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2024 Keynote Speakers

  • Wishes for a Hopeful Tomorrow: Walking With 5 Year Olds in the World of Today | Lesley Koplow
  • The Art of Gathering: Explorations with Found Objects | Maria Elena Richa
  • Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play | Mitchel Resnick
  • Jewels & Tools – How Books Shine for the Youngest Hearts and Minds! | Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney

Tom Roderick

2024 Honoree

Tom Roderick
Tom Roderick is an educator, activist, and writer. He was the founding executive director of the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, a national leader in social and emotional learning. Morningside Center is a nonprofit partner of the NYC Department of Education, implementing SEL and restorative justice practices in NYC public schools. Roderick is the author of many articles and books, including A School of Our Own: Parents, Power, and Community at the East Harlem Block Schools (Teachers College Press, 2001). His most recent book, Teach for Climate Justice: A Vision for Transforming Education (Harvard Education Press, 2023), presents an approach to teaching and learning along with a dynamic curriculum that inspires both children and adults to become courageous, informed advocates for climate justice.

Conference Founders

Betsy Grob is an early childhood specialist who served on the faculty of Bank Street College for over 20 years. She currently advises students in the Graduate Program in Early Childhood Education at City College and at City College’s Center for Worker Education, both in New York City. In addition, Grob facilitates professional development for early childhood educators in the New York metropolitan area as well as in many countries around the world including Sierra Leone, Chile, Romania, Mongolia, and Azerbaijan. She has taught kindergarten, first grade, and early childhood Spanish in New York City and Colorado. Grob is co-author of Teaching Kindergarten: Learner-Centered Classrooms for the 21st Century (Teachers College Press, 2015) and is co-author of The Right to Learn: Preparing Early Childhood Teachers to Work in High-Needs Schools (Bank Street College’s Occasional Paper Series, Number 25, 2010). She holds an MS in and an EdM in education, both from Bank Street College.

 

Fretta Reitzes

Fretta Reitzes has been a classroom teacher, educational therapist, teaching artist, parent educator, and author. During her thirty-five year tenure at the 92nd Street Y, she was the founder and director of the annual Wonderplay Conference, director of the Y’s Goldman Center for Youth & Family, and director of the Parenting Center. Presently, she consults with early childhood teachers, administrators, and school leadership. In 2016, Reitzes developed On-Kindness, a project that provides tools and perspectives about creating a culture of kindness and presents lectures/ workshops at schools, universities and community centers. She is adjunct faculty at City College’s Center for Worker Education in New York City. Reitzes is co-author of Teaching Kindergarten: Learner-Centered Classrooms for the 21st Century (Teachers College Press, 2015); WonderPlay, and WonderPlay Too! (Running Press, 1995 and 2005), and The Right to Learn: Preparing Early Childhood Teachers to Work in High-Needs Schools (Bank Street College’s Occasional Paper Series, Number 25, 2010). She holds an MSEd in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College.

Conference Sponsor

Community Playthings logoWe wish to thank Community Playthings for their support.

Testimonial
Thank you for this wonderful experience. Every moment was a gift to teachers, and (hopefully) to children.
Teaching Kindergarten Conference 2023 Attendee
Testimonial
The conference (as always) provided tactics, ideas and inspiration that I can immediately apply to my teaching practice and I can easily bring into my classroom.
Teaching Kindergarten Conference 2023 Attendee
Testimonial
I LOVED this conference and now I LOVE Bank Street. It was such a good reminder about the importance of play and time to explore with materials. I look forward to attending again next year! Thank you!
Teaching Kindergarten Conference 2023 Attendee
Testimonial
I leave the conference feeling invigorated, encouraged, and enlightened.
Teaching Kindergarten Conference 2023 Attendee