In this article, the author examines classroom observation reports from the careers of 5 teachers who taught in 14 different schools in a range of grade levels, subject areas, and neighborhoods throughout New York City. These observation reports provide an important primary source for understanding the teaching principles that guided the practices…

A retired public school teacher recollects and reflects upon her collaboration with Patricia F. Carini, founder of the Prospect School and the Prospect Center for Education and Research. The recollections synthesize her participation in annual Prospect gatherings with an eclectic group of like-minded educators and caretakers from all over the…

This paper focuses on the partnership between Writopia Lab and PS 89, a K-8, Title 1 School in the Bronx, to explore concrete ways of inviting joy and play into the classroom while interacting with the embedded obstacles within our education culture.

Although initially ideologically diverse, the charter school movement has become increasingly aligned with neoliberal ideology, which assumes that public services, including education, are improved through market forces, such as accountability, competition, efficiency, and managerialism. Yet little is known about how leaders of ideologically…

This case study situates the evolution of Teachers College as a negotiation between two strands of Progressive Era social reform--one that emphasized direct service and one that emphasized the development of education as a profession. While in the early years of Teachers College efforts at professionalizing education were privileged, the…

Researchers have demonstrated how venture philanthropic networks advance the growth of charter schools underpinned by market tenets. However, little remains known about how progressive charter schools mobilize financial support when most funding from philanthropic networks flows to market-oriented charters. This qualitative study examines how…

This article explores the history of school gardens in educational projects linked to four scholars at Teachers College (Bigelow, Dewey, Kilpatrick and Carney) during the early twentieth century. It concludes that gardening activities were designed primarily for urban children who lacked experience in farming. The role of gardening in experimental…

Confirmation of the current enthusiasm for re-visioning progressive education arrived in inboxes this fall when the Bank Street College of Education received more submissions for this issue than for any other in the journal's 17-year history. From these the editors have selected a range of essays that reflect pre-kindergarten through high-school…

When he was director of alternative schools and deputy superintendent of New York City's District Four in the 1970s and 1980s, Seymour Fliegel created a districtwide free choice plan and a nationally recognized network of 24 alternative concept schools. In this interview, Fliegel argues the merits of choice and suggests ways for schools to…

Examines fundamental tensions between the individual and community as manifested in the philosophy and practice of three progressive New York City Schools. The historical case studies of private progressive education demonstrate a tension between liberal and communitarian dimensions of progressive education, a tension implicit in progressive…

This publication is the first annual yearbook of the Bank Street College of Education (New York) and discusses the effects of actions by educators and others in light of concerns for equity, focusing on New York City schools. The volume includes scholarly chapters and chapters on policy and advocacy, and authors address practical and theoretical…

At Central Park East (CPE) schools in East Harlem, New York City, 90 percent of students graduate from high school and 90 percent of those go on to college. Starting with the CPE success story, this book shows why good education is possible for all children, and why public education is vital to the future of our democracy. Begun in the mid-1970s,…