Real flexibility. Real community. Real results—straight from the educators who lived it.
Bank Street has spent over a century building on the belief that people learn best when actively engaged—with ideas, with materials, and with each other. Our online master’s programs prepare educators for certification in early childhood education, elementary education, special education, and school leadership—and they carry that same philosophy straight into the Zoom classroom.
We sat down with our faculty and recent graduates (who are working teachers and busy parents) to share what the experience actually looks like—in their own words. They make the case better than we ever could.
Live, Conversation-Based Classrooms
Online learning at Bank Street is not a dashboard full of readings and text boxes. It’s a live, collaborative, conversation-driven experience grounded in Bank Street’s signature developmental-interaction approach.
Maddie Whoriskey, GSE ’26, came in with some skepticism, which quickly dissipated:
“I was a little bit nervous, honestly, going into the online program. But I was really surprised by how different it was from my experience in college. Every single one of my classes were always in breakout rooms. Most of the Zooms are talking to each other about different readings or experiences we’ve had teaching.”
Between live sessions, faculty use tools like Padlet, discussion boards, and video responses to extend ideas across the week—so you’re still thinking alongside your peers even when you’re not on Zoom.
A Schedule That Respects Your Life
Online classes meet from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, with each course meeting once a week. Your Fridays and weekends are yours. By logging into class from home, you cut out the commute and reclaim the hours that would otherwise be spent traveling.
Gina Lasko-Sherwood, GSE ’26, found that this flexibility wasn’t just a “nice-to-have.” It was what made the whole thing possible:
“As a full-time teacher and mother and then adding in graduate school, I wanted to make sure that I could handle all the workload. Having it online made it possible for me to attend. Just cutting out the commute time was a really important factor.”
Mentorship and Fieldwork You Can Use the Next Day
One of the cornerstones of a Bank Street education—online or on campus—is supervised fieldwork. As an online student, you complete your fieldwork right in your current classroom or school community. Your faculty advisor virtually observes your teaching through Zoom or recorded video clips, then meets with you one on one to give specific, contextual feedback that changes how you work.
For Ebony Sudler, GSE ’26, the fieldwork experience improved her teaching and it also permanently changed how she sees children:
“The way I was taught in my fieldwork how to actually observe a child has changed me forever. I learned about descriptive review, language and body language, and how to just appreciate what a child is doing. Even my supervisors noticed it, and it will help wherever I go.”
A Community That Feels Like Family
At Bank Street, we are here for you so you don’t ever feel like you’re navigating your degree alone. The cohort model means you take every course alongside the same small group of grad students, semester after semester, building real relationships and long-lasting friendships.
Those connections last well beyond graduation. Maddie completed a master’s project that involved interviewing Bank Street alumni from across the decades, and she found something remarkable:
“There’s such a community of learners, even if they graduated a long time ago. That’s something I really look forward to after I graduate—staying connected to Bank Street faculty and students and alum. I think that’s part of what makes Bank Street so special.”
Soyoung Park, Director of Online Programs in Early Childhood and Childhood Special and General Education, has seen this play out over years of students coming through the program:
“I’ve had students who are in their fieldwork conference groups together who develop these lifelong friendships. Folks have been in each other’s weddings or throwing baby showers for one another.” — Soyoung Park, Director of Online Programs
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Bank Street’s online master’s programs offer the same rigorous, relationship-centered, inquiry-driven education as our on-campus programs with added flexibility to meet you where you are—at your kitchen table or on your couch! Whether you’re a working teacher, a parent, or someone returning to school after years away, our community is ready to welcome you.
As Gina puts it simply:
“If you’re thinking about joining an online program at Bank Street, you should do it. I don’t feel like I missed out on anything because it was an online program. The classes were still very hands-on and engaging.”
We’d love to tell you more about our online program options—the Admissions team is always available for a one-on-one conversation. Our contact information is at the bottom of this page.
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