Students with Disabilities All Grades Residency Program (Pre-K–12)

MSEd | 38 credits
On Campus or Online
Initial Certification
Complete in under 2 years

Transform your passion for equity into a career of profound impact with our master’s degree in Students with Disabilities (All Grades). As you earn your degree in special education, Bank Street will prepare you to become a designer of inclusive learning environments that honor the full humanity of every child. You will learn to build on a student’s strengths using asset-based pedagogies to advocate for families and transform your learning environment into one that is truly accessible and affirming for all.

Your academic coursework, which will span multiple age bands, will be coupled with immersive, supervised residency that enables you to apply and practice what you’re learning right from your first semester. Our dedicated faculty, advisors, and administrators will guide you with individualized mentorship while you continually apply theory and research to practice, refine your teaching, and  prepare to lead classrooms with confidence. Our program is highly interactive and relationship-centered, with active student engagement in classes built on dialogue, collaboration, and reflection. When you graduate, you join an enduring Bank Street network that fosters ongoing professional connections, mentorship, and leadership opportunities across your career.

Partner schools are currently in districts 13 and 16 in Brooklyn and district 12 in the Bronx. Fall 2026 residency cohort members received a 50% tuition scholarship for both years of study, along with a $30,000 stipend during their first year. The scholarship applies strictly to tuition and excludes program fees. Funding details for the Fall 2027 cohort are currently being finalized.

In This Program, You Will

• Bridge Theory and Practice with Seasoned Mentorship: Engage in a five-day-a-week, hands-on residency across two academic years while collaborating with advisors and mentor teachers who bring experience-based learning into your courses and fieldwork, emphasizing adaptability, problem-solving, and a joy for learning.
• Champion Social Justice, Equity, and Advocacy: Analyze the historical and systemic roots of institutional racism, ableism, and linguicism to become a transformative advocate for students and families. Prepare to become a changemaker who leads, influences, and innovates while centering equity and access for all children and families within a community that honors diverse identities, centers strengths, values peer collaboration, and is rooted in strong, caring relationships.
• Develop Specialized Instruction and Responsive Pedagogy: Gain expertise in the legal and pedagogical frameworks of special education, including the development and implementation of IFSPs, IEPs, and 504 plans. You will learn to design accessible, responsive, child-centered environments and curricula that honor every student’s unique developmental profile, helping every child reach their full potential.
• Design Inclusive Curriculum and Adopt an Asset-Based Lens: Develop sophisticated skills in differentiation, multimodal assessment, and specialized instructional supports tailored to your chosen age band. By partnering with families, you will learn to utilize an asset-based lens that respects and uplifts each child’s diverse identity.
• Collaborate Effectively: Cultivate a collaborative disposition to work alongside families, related service providers, and school administrators to optimize educational outcomes.

Who Should Apply

• Aspiring Special Educators: Individuals seeking a comprehensive foundation in progressive education and a path to dual certification or specialized expertise in supporting students with disabilities.
• Career Changers: Professionals from other fields who are committed to social justice and wish to transition into a high-needs area of education.
• Current Classroom Paraprofessionals interested in expanding their skillset and taking on a teaching role. These individuals need the support of their school administration to be eligible to maintain the specific paraprofessional role required for the program. Paraprofessionals who are able to maintain the applicable position may be eligible for a stipend depending on grant funding. Funding details for the Fall 2027 cohort are currently being finalized.

We find that the most successful online students are those who thrive in collaborative group work done during synchronous meetings and who are also independently driven to complete asynchronous work on their own time.

This program has the option to begin in the fall.

The Fall 2027 application is currently open

Application Deadlines

• Applications are reviewed in rounds to ensure you receive a timely decision.
• You will have five business days after the application deadlines to finish providing any missing required materials. Incomplete applications will be moved to the next round for consideration.
• In some cases, applications submitted after the final deadline will be reviewed on a space-available basis.
• We strongly encourage you to submit your application as early as possible. This guarantees the most timely admissions decision and the broadest consideration for scholarships and financial aid.
• If you’re accepted, you will have 3 weeks to respond to our offer of admission.

Fall 2027

Admissions Criteria

No prior teaching certification is necessary for this program.

In addition to meeting other admissions requirements, applicants for the Students with Disabilities, All Grades (Pre-K–12) program will need to meet New York State requirements for the “content core” of the liberal art & science prerequisites, which includes the following course subjects taken at the undergraduate level with a grade of “C” and above:

• Social Sciences (6 credits)
• Science (6 credits)
• Math (6 credits)
• English Language Arts (6 credits)

Please review our How to Apply page for full details on the application process, admissions criteria, and application requirements.

A note for our international applicants regarding our Teacher Residency Programs offered through the New York State Department of Labor Empire State Teacher Residency Program:

• If you are a student intending to enroll with an F-1 Visa: F-1 Visa recipients must promise to work in New York State for two years in a teacher capacity post graduation. Therefore, international students on F-1 Visas are unfortunately ineligible for our residency programs because they do not have immigration status to remain in the USA and work for more than one year following their graduation. A non-STEM degree F-1 Visa student is limited to one year of post-graduate work experience (also referred to as twelve month post completion Optional Practical Training or OPT).
• If you are a student who would apply as a DACA recipient: DACA recipients are eligible to participate in the Empire State Teacher Residency Program, as long as they represent that they intend to work in New York State in the required teacher capacity for two years.

Questions? We encourage you to contact the Office of Graduate Admissions for a personal response by emailing gradadmissions@bankstreet.edu.

Tuition

At Bank Street, tuition is charged per credit. The Students with Disabilities All Grades Residency Program (Pre-K–12) requires 38 credits for completion.

For students participating in Bank Street residency programs in Fall 2026:

• Students earn a stipend of up to $30,000, offered in partnership with the Empire State Teacher Residency Program.
• All residency cohort members will receive a scholarship reducing tuition by approximately 50%. The scholarship does not apply to fees.
• In the second year of the program, students will have the opportunity to become a full-time paid teacher.

Funding details for the Fall 2027 cohort are currently being finalized.

Read more on our Tuition page

Financial Aid

The majority of Bank Street students receive some type of financial aid. We strongly recommend applying early and submitting your FAFSA at the time you apply for the broadest consideration for scholarships and financial aid.

Read more on our Financial Aid page

Technology Requirements

Students enrolling in the online options must secure access to the following required technology for all online courses:

• A personal computer with:
  • Broadband Internet access
  • Speakers, microphone, and camera
  • Headphones, if participating from a public or shared space
  • An updated version of the Chrome or Firefox browser and a free Zoom account
• A recording device for supervised fieldwork (such as a smartphone, laptop, or iPad) suitable for use in classrooms

These are required components of your program. It is your responsibility to ensure you have access to each item on this list. Bank Street does not provide or lend access to these devices and platforms.

Our Approach

Our curriculum centers on active, inquiry-driven learning that mirrors how children learn best—through exploration, collaboration, and reflection. We engage you in rigorous study of educational theory, human development, and inclusive practice while you apply that learning immediately in classroom settings. Through rich dialogue, purposeful assignments, and collaborative projects, you will refine your ability to think critically, teach responsively, and support diverse learners. By the end of the program, you will have deepened your professional judgment, strengthened your reflective capacities, and grown as an educator ready to lead and innovate.

Time Commitment

This program takes under two years to complete. You will work in a classroom setting as a resident five days a week during the fall and spring terms of the first year and as a teacher of record in the second year.

In the online options, each course typically meets once per week in a live, synchronous online session from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM ET. In some cases, a class session may be replaced with asynchronous coursework assignments for that week, which are completed on your own schedule and must be submitted by the posted deadlines. Classes are not held on Fridays. Students should plan to dedicate approximately 10 hours per week to program-related study and activities.

In the on-campus option, each course typically meets once per week, either from 4:45 PM to 6:45 PM or 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM ET. Classes are not typically held on Fridays. Depending on a student’s course schedule for that term, you can expect to dedicate approximately 10 hours per week to program-related study and activities. Over the summer, classes typically meet twice a week from 5:15 PM to 9:00 PM ET.

Course Plan

38 credits

Fall Start

Learning Through Experience and Reflection

In year one of the program (Fall and Spring terms), your residency integrates five days a week of hands-on classroom teaching with continuous, intentional reflection. Working directly with children and adolescents, you will engage in active cycles of planning, teaching, assessing, and reflecting—grounding your growth in real classroom practice.

Advisement, Mentorship, & Conference Groups

Fieldwork is closely supported through weekly small-group conferences and one-on-one advisement:

• Weekly Conference Groups: Meet weekly with an advisor and a small peer cohort to discuss real classroom challenges, gain diverse perspectives, and build a lasting professional network.
• Targeted Advisement: Receive ongoing observation, modeling, and direct feedback from experienced mentors to refine your teaching skills, navigate challenges, and advocate effectively for every child.

Certification

When you successfully complete the program, you will receive a master’s degree and be eligible for New York State Certification in Students with Disabilities, All Grades, provided you complete all other state certification requirements. Read more on our Certification page

Careers

After graduation, students pursue a range of career opportunities including:

• Teaching in special education or inclusion classrooms in New York City public schools in grades pre-K through 6 and in inclusion classrooms, grades 7 through 12
• Designing and assessing educational programming, curriculum, and policy
• Pursuing doctoral degree programs

As a student at Bank Street, you will have full access to our robust Career Services, including the CareerConnect job site, job fairs and workshops, and connections to our alumni network nationwide.