Norma Degante and Kayonn Cleopatra Tanique McKoy-Clue were both working as lead teachers when they enrolled in Bank Street’s Early Childhood General Education Advanced Standing Program (ECASP), and both graduated in May 2026 without ever leaving the classrooms they love. If you’re a lead teacher working with children ages birth through second grade in a publicly funded setting and are ready to take your career to the next level, their experiences might be exactly what you need to hear.
Your Experience Counts. So Does Your Time.
This advanced standing program was designed for educators who are already doing the work. Students complete 30 credits in 16 months, receive a scholarship covering more than 50 percent of tuition, and can earn up to six life experience credits for the work they are already doing in their classroom.
The decision to choose this program was straightforward for Norma, an assistant teacher for 3- to 5-year-olds at Children’s Big Apple in Jackson Heights, Queens who also works as a behavioral therapist.
“Bank Street’s program just felt right for me,” she said. “They offered a scholarship, and I would be able to complete the degree in a shorter period of time. As part of a small cohort, I was able to get the one-on-one advisement and learning experiences that really supported my growth.”
Your Classroom Is Your Laboratory.
Fieldwork in ECASP happens where you already teach. That continuity is intentional, and it pushes students to look more carefully at the children and environments they thought they already understood.
For Kayonn, who’s a lead teacher in a NYC Public Schools UPK program in the Bronx, supervised fieldwork meant refining her practice in real time, including a peer video review that gave her a new kind of professional clarity.
“My professor had the opportunity to visit my classes and assess my classroom environment, lesson plan, teaching strategies, and interactions with students. She encouraged me not to lose my passion for teaching, which was sparked by my interactions with the children,” Kayonn said.
Your Cohort Stays With You.
ECASP students move through the program together, and graduates consistently name the Bank Street community as one of the program’s long-lasting assets. When Norma was preparing a demo lesson, her cohort stepped in.
“I had ideas but I wasn’t sure which direction to take,” she said. “I brought my thoughts to the conference group, they pitched in, and it really helped me work it through. It’s so important to have support.”
Bank Street Cares.
The cohort is one piece of it, and the broader Bank Street community is another. Norma noticed it in a small but telling habit of her instructor, who paused at the start of every class to ask how students were doing before diving into the work.
She said, “When we would come together for classes, sometimes we were tired or stressed, and our professor would take a moment to ask about how we were doing. It gave us the time and space to decompress. It’s amazing what that small gesture can do. It’s something I now do regularly at my own school, just check in.”
For Kayonn, that culture of care showed up when she needed it most, as she navigated the program through significant personal hardship while teaching full time and raising a son on her own. “Today, I am successful because of Bank Street’s supportive community,” she said.
Where Will Your Degree Take You?
Both Norma and Kayonn graduated with a clear sense of direction. Norma is pursuing a head teacher position with support from Bank Street’s Career Services team. Kayonn is now looking into doctoral programs to become an educational leader, setting her sights on a director or assistant principal role.
“I believe in educational equity, and Bank Street’s pedagogy and philosophy is what drew me to the school,” Kayonn said. “Children need multicultural learning environments that respect and support every one of them, their cultural backgrounds, and their individual learning needs. Bank Street reinforced that in me. It helped me develop into a better educator. It helped me grow as a person.”
Norma and Kayonn each have more to share.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
The next ECASP cohort begins January 2027. The Admissions team is always available for a one-on-one conversation—find our contact information is at the bottom of this page.
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