Phillip Hoose: 2025 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech

Author Phillip Hoose gives an acceptance speech for Claudette Colvin: I Want Freedom Now!, illustrated by Bea Jackson (Straus and Giroux)https://educate.bankstreet.edu/irma_black_awards/1019/thumbnail.jp

What Happened to the Creative in the Creative Curriculum?

This empirically-grounded commentary questions the basis for New York City Public Schools’ (NYCPS) adoption of the Teaching Strategies products—the Creative Curriculum (CC) and Teaching Strategies GOLD—as the mandated curriculum and assessment systems for early childhood education (ECE) programs administered by the New York City Public Schools. In an analysis shaped by our hybrid positionalities as early childhood educators, parents, policy makers, and researchers, we argue that this decision is a local case of neoliberalism’s simultaneous narrowing of educational quality and a transfer of public funding into private hands under the guise of the free market. Our commentary, which is augmented by examples from our research and practice, begins with an overview of New York City’s (NYC) ECE system, contextualized within national systems issues in ECE. This provides important framing for discussing the evolution of NYC’s ECE curricula and assessment as the city expanded its public preschool programs. We end by considering how U.S. ECE was ensnared by the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM), sounding a call to action for scholars, advocates, and educators to mobilize against a (seemingly) unassailable GERM through organizing and coalition-building.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/sc/1016/thumbnail.jp

John Schu : The Inaugural Youth Choice Award 2025 Acceptance Speech

Author John Schu wins the Inaugural Youth Choice Award 2025 for Louder than Hunger from the Bank Street College Children\u27s Book Committee. The Youth Choice Award The Children’s Book Committee (CBC) and the Young Ambassadors are delighted to announce the winner of the Inaugural Youth Choice Award, selected from the Best Books of the Year List honoring a book of outstanding literary merit on sensitive subjects written for a youth audience. The Young Ambassadors developed criteria for selecting a shortlist of books that are inspiring and resonate with their peers from CBC-approved titles during 2024. The CBC is most grateful to the Young Ambassadors for their commitment to ensuring that youth choices are heard.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/cbc_awards/1026/thumbnail.jp

Actualizing Black Spatial Histories Through a Speculative Youth Archiving Project

For today’s youth, learning about one\u27s history and culture is not always a given in the classroom. Many schools are learning spaces void of any cultural or spatial connection, particularly for Black students. This paper details an action-based summer archeology program hosted by the Burke Museum and Seattle Public Schools Liberatory Education Program that explored Black spatial histories through speculative youth archiving. Through key relationships with community organizations, students underwent a three-week program designed to allow students to develop their relationship with Black spatial histories and envision their role in creating and setting history in real-time. Using student interviews, the authors were able to understand both the importance of locating a Black past in speculative youth work and how relationships are imperative to building an archive and skillset toward reclamation of history. Ultimately, this paper seeks to build knowledge toward answering the question: what\u27s the role of youth in building a community archive? Specifically, how does a youth archive shift how we think about speculative YPAR work and the role of youth in community archiving and building out Black spatial histories

Long Trip 2002 Photo 1

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Long Trip 2000 Photo 3

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Transforming Futures Through Speculative YPAR: The Garage Story

The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions for young people across the U.S., exacerbating feelings of isolation and disconnection. In response, the [Youth] Think Tank—a paid Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) internship—was launched in [city name]. Teens from diverse backgrounds came together to address the issues they and their peers were facing. This article chronicles the journey of the [Youth] Think Tank through each phase of its YPAR project, following the design process step-by-step as the group developed The [Hub]: a youth-designed space that fosters connection, safety, and belonging within the community. Starting from the program\u27s inception, we trace how the teens identified their peers\u27 needs, envisioned an inclusive community space, and translated those ideas into actionable designs. This article also explores the integration of Speculative YPAR, a creative approach that empowered teens to imagine futures unconstrained by current limitations and to envision a space that could serve their community. By blending research, imagination, and practical action, the [Youth] Think Tank redefined community engagement and demonstrated the power of youth-led projects in reshaping post-pandemic futures. This chronological account of the project\u27s design phases offers a unique insight into how young people can transform their communities when given the freedom to lead

Barney Saltzberg Claudia Lewis Award 2025 Acceptance Speech

Author Barney Saltzberg wins the Claudia Lewis Award 2025 (younger readers) for The Smell of Wet Dog: And Other Dog Poems and Drawings from Bank Street College Children\u27s Book Committee. The Claudia Lewis Award The Claudia Lewis Award, given for the first time in 1998, honors the best poetry book of the year. The award commemorates the late Claudia Lewis, distinguished children’s book expert and longtime member of the Bank Street College faculty and Children’s Book Committee. She conveyed her love and understanding of poetry with humor and grace.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/cbc_awards/1024/thumbnail.jp

#39: (Re)Imagining Inclusion for Children of Color with Disabilities

A library salon conversation between Bank Street faculty members, Dr. Soyoung Park and Dr. Pamela Jones, about Dr. Park’s new book, (Re)Imagining Inclusion for Children of Color with Disabilities. Drawing from DisCrit theory, Park showcases the pedagogical and solidarity practices of inclusive educators who reject exclusionary practices and create communities of belonging for children of color with disabilities. Park and Jones will discuss these practices, their own personal and professional journeys with inclusion, and the significance of the book in today’s sociopolitical climate.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/librarysalons/1038/thumbnail.jp