The Long Trip
Bank Street’s annual Long Trips have played a vital role in increasing our understanding of the issues that shape and challenge our country. Bank Street founder Lucy Sprague Mitchell believed that we must not lose sight of the sociopolitical aim of educators in a democratic society. She believed that seeing the world from another’s eyes would bring greater empathy and caring, and a desire to engage in the world more deeply and actively.
August 2025: San Juan, Puerto Rico
With approximately 600,000 Puerto Rican citizens residing in New York City, cultural connections between New York and Puerto Rico are strong. Historically, Puerto Ricans and New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent have established educational and social institutions that have catalyzed key political and social movements. During the upcoming Long Trip, we will delve into the complex political dynamics surrounding the island’s designation as a commonwealth. We will speak with educators, community rights activists, artists, and business owners while exploring the beautiful city of San Juan.
More information about the Long Trip 2025, including program fees, a sample schedule, and more will be available in early 2025. Please check back for more details.
About the Instructor
Cristian Solorza is a faculty member and supervised fieldwork advisor at Bank Street’s Graduate School of Education. He instructs in the Dual Language/Bilingual Education and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) programs. Cristian took his first Long Trip in 2007 to Reykjavik, Iceland and was hooked. After attending seven more Long Trips, he is now very happy to lead the Long Trip to Puerto Rico.
History of the Long Trip
Originated by Bank Street founder Lucy Sprague Mitchell, the Long Trip took place each spring from 1935-1952. Faculty and student teachers would travel together to encounter the complexity of a distant environment and confront its social and political issues—the labor movement, poverty, conservation, government intervention programs, race relations—and the consequences for children, their education, and their families. Revived in 1996 by Fern Khan, then Dean of Continuing Education, and Carol Hillman, a Bank Street alumna and former Board of Trustees member, the Long Trip is now open to students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of Bank Street.
Each trip offers exciting and heart-warming opportunities for connections with new friends and colleagues. Participants have met with the local people and learned about their culture, education, economy, and religion in places such as Savannah, Georgia, Jamaica, Finland, and Costa Rica.
