Dr. Sandra K. Chapman

Early Childhood General Education '92

I just fell in love with progressive practice wholeheartedly. I became a progressive educator, progressive parent, progressive friend. It weaved into how I show up in environments

Dr. Sandra K. Chapman, or “Chap” as she became known at the Bank Street School for Children, is the founder and CEO of Chap Equity Inc. She graduated from Bank Street in 1992 with an MSEd in Early Childhood General Education. She has worked as an assistant teacher and head teacher at Bank Street School for Children and served as the director of Bank Street Summer Camp.

With a focus on social identity, differences, equity, social justice, and workplace culture, her current work includes restorative circle dialogues and coaching on individual change and leadership development, as well as facilitating workshops and training for teachers, parents, boards, and health organizations. She’s also in the process of writing a middle-grade fantasy story that stems from her daughter’s experience of forming her identity.

“We all develop our own ideological mindsets that impact us at the interpersonal level. They can impact who we’re drawn towards, who we stay away from, who we invite, who invites us into spaces. And I want to shift the mindsets at the individual level so we can be better towards each other. And that’s my work with children, my work with parents, my work with board members, with educators. With individual shifts, we start to see institutions changing. And when institutions start to change, we get system changes.”

In a recent interview, Dr. Chap reflected on her journey and experience at Bank Street.