Awards Ceremony

Kate Sussman, SFC ’85 & GSE ’98
Distinguished Service Award

Kate Sussman is an educator with over 30 years of experience developing teachers, teams, and student support services. Since graduating from Bank Street Graduate School of Education in 1998, Kate has worked at Bank Street, as well as with public charter organizations, non-profits, and independent and district schools. Her mission throughout has been to bring Bank Street out into the world.

Kate has a long history of leadership and consulting in New York City education, with a focus on inclusion and increasing access to high-quality education for all students. She has held leadership roles at KIPP NYC and Opportunity Charter School, where she supported inclusive practices and special education. Her career began at Bank Street in 1994 with the Liberty Partnerships (now Liberty LEADS) program, expanding after school, summer, and college access programs. She has returned to Bank Street as a member of the Early Childhood Education team at the Bank Street Education Center, where her work centers on bringing developmentally meaningful practices back into early childhood classrooms. Kate is also a circle keeper with the New York Peace Institute, following her passion for community building and repair work.

Jessica Wontropski, GSE ’12
Ida Karp Award

Jessica Wontropski began her teaching career during her graduate program at Bank Street, during which she worked as a special educator in an integrated co-taught classroom at Bronx Community Charter School. Over several years, she taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, creating experiences for children grounded in Bank Street’s values of inquiry, creativity, accessibility, and humanizing pedagogies.

Jessica began working with Bank Street in 2013 as a cooperating teacher and transitioned to an adjunct instructor role in 2015. She joined the faculty full time in 2017, serving as a program director, advisor, and course instructor. She is currently chair of the Teaching & Learning Department, where she works alongside faculty to construct and reconstruct programs that support students’ growth and development so they can best serve children, families, and communities.

Jessica is honored to receive the 2026 BSCAA Ida Karp Award and looks forward to continuing her work with colleagues and students to advance Bank Street philosophy and its long-term goals.

Samantha Sewpersaud, GSE ’25
Recent Graduate Award

Samantha Sewpersaud is a 6th grade math teacher with New York City Public Schools and has been part of the Department of Education community for 19 years. She believes collaboration between teachers and students is the foundation of great learning—when we work together, we learn from each other, share ideas, listen, and push our thinking forward.

Her favorite part about teaching math is when students are talking, exploring, and doing the thinking themselves, because everyone brings something valuable to the table. Samantha has proudly served as a model teacher for 10 years and recently earned a master’s degree in Leadership in Mathematics from Bank Street Graduate School of Education.

Laleña Garcia, GSE ’02
Recognition Award

Laleña Garcia (she/her) is a kindergarten teacher living in Brooklyn. A graduate of Yale University and Bank Street Graduate School of Education, she has been teaching in New York City since 2000.

Laleña works with Team Gender Anarchy, helping early childhood professionals and families create expansive and supportive understandings of gender, sexuality, relationships, and family structure. A member of the New York City Black Lives Matter at School steering committee since 2018, she also provides professional development for schools and institutions seeking to deepen their anti-racist work. Her online course, Rooted, offers contextual background and concrete strategies for anti-bias work in early childhood and elementary settings.

Laleña is the author of What We Believe and How We Can Live, and in 2025 received a Brooklyn Arts Council grant to create Singing For Our Lives, a zine about the largest tobacco factory strike in history led by Black women in Winston-Salem, North Carolina during World War II.

Carlyn Rahynes, GSE ’24
Recognition Award

Carlyn A. Rahynes has been a transformational leader in New York City Public Schools for over 20 years, serving as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in 3K-5 learning communities. She launched the first 3K program in New York City in partnership with the Mayor’s and Chancellor’s Offices, making her district the first to welcome 2- and 3-year-olds.

A fierce advocate for early childhood education, Carlyn works to ensure equitable, developmentally appropriate learning environments for all children. Under her leadership, her team designed a STEAM program for children ages three to five, integrating Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education practices to elevate identity, culture, and belonging.

Recognized internationally, Carlyn has shared best practices in early childhood education with Quebec’s Parliament, contributing to an international partnership and the expansion of universal pre-K in Quebec. She also advises New York City’s early childhood central office and serves on the Chancellor’s Principal Advisory Board.

Kate Abell, GSE ’95
Recognition Award (Posthumous)

A graduate of Bank Street’s Early Childhood and Elementary Education program, Kate Abell was a labor organizer, poet, mathematician, classroom teacher, and math coach for over 20 years. Her legacy is defined by her tireless advocacy for New York City public school students and teachers. On a mission to make high-quality math education accessible and equitable, Kate founded The Math Collective, transforming elementary math instruction by championing inquiry-based thinking. Remembered by colleagues as a visionary, tireless, joyful leader, she balanced her commitment to pedagogical excellence with a fierce passion for social justice. Outside the classroom, Kate traveled the world, played tennis, downhill skied, climbed dozens of “14ers” in Colorado, and reveled in nature.

Members of Kate’s family will accept the award in her honor.