- Flexible Format: Join us on site or tune in online!
- 2 Keynote Speakers: Featuring Dr. Beverly Falk and Melissa A. Butler
- Workshops & Roundtables: Deep dives into equitable pedagogy and hands-on curricula
- Arts Gathering: A joyful music and dance session led by the National Dance Institute
- 10th Anniversary Celebration: Join us Saturday at 4:15 PM to celebrate a decade of impact
Conferences & Institutes
Teaching Kindergarten Conference: Where Did the Garden Go?
Kindergarten is a precious year of discovery, wonder, and creativity—where play and active learning give real meaning to literacy, science, and math. Join us to address the challenge of kindergarten becoming the new first grade.
Given the extraordinary challenges that teachers are facing in today’s world, coming together as a community is more important than ever! At this conference, you’ll have ongoing opportunities to process the content with your peers and you’ll come away with fresh ideas and curricula that will re-ignite and inspire joyful learning for your students and yourself.
2026 Theme: Curiosity, Creativity & Courage
Friday, March 13 – Saturday, March 14, 2026
Held at Bank Street (NYC) & Online
Join us as we explore and celebrate the power of Curiosity, Creativity & Courage in your classrooms and school communities. At this year’s conference, you’ll come away with fresh ideas and curricula that will reignite and inspire joyful learning for the children you teach and for yourselves. Given the extraordinary challenges that teachers are facing in today’s world, coming together as a community is more important than ever.
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Program Highlights
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Registration and Fees
Registration Rates
- On Site (Individual): $289 Early Bird (by Feb 20) / $379 Standard
- On Site (Group): $269 Early Bird (by Feb 20) / $359 Standard
- Online (Individual): $219 Early Bird (by Feb 20) / $289 Standard
- Online (Group): $209 Early Bird (by Feb 20) / $279 Standard
Purchase Orders and Invoicing
- Forward related purchase orders to cps@bankstreet.edu
- To pay an invoice by check or money order, make it payable to Bank Street College and mail to:
Bank Street College
Attn: Teaching Kindergarten Conference
610 West 112th Street
New York, NY 10025
Additional Information
- Participants will receive Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) Hours: 10 CTLE on site / 7 CTLE online
- We are excited to announce that we are using the Whova App to support the conference this year. Get Whova Now
- For the online sessions, Zoom translate is available to provide live captions in over 25 languages. 可提供超过 25 种语言的实时字幕。Está disponible para proporcionar subtítulos en vivo en más de 25 idiomas.
- Please direct inquiries to Continuing Professional Studies at cps@bankstreet.edu or 212-961-4649
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2026 Honoree
Alvin Irby, GSE ’09, is an award-winning early childhood educator, TED speaker, author, and comedian. He is founder and chief reading inspirer at Barbershop Books, a national literacy non-profit that inspires Black boys and other vulnerable children to read for fun. His work with Barbershop Books earned him the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize. Irby is passionate about helping caregivers and teachers understand and address the systemic challenges that inhibit children’s intrinsic motivation to read and learn. -
On-Site Pre-Conference (Optional)
If you purchase a ticket to attend the conference on site, there is an optional add-on ticket to attend a pre-conference. If you choose to join us at the pre-conference, you’ll spend the morning observing Bank Street School for Children or Castle Bridge PS 513 classrooms and will then come together for a facilitated discussion and working lunch. Topics may include: questioning techniques, racial literacy, assessment, and the teacher’s role in the classroom. Using observations from the morning and your own experiences as a frame of reference, the group will discuss practical ways of inspiring Curiosity, Creativity & Courage into their own programs and classrooms.
From the 2025 Conference
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96%Of participants reported gaining new skills and strategies to implement immediately
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98%Of participants said the keynote addresses provided them with useful knowledge
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92%Of participants would like to attend the conference again
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17States were represented, and 3 countries
Friday Keynote | Dr. Beverly Falk
Teaching the Way Children Learn: Finding Courage, Hope, and Joy in Kindergarten Classrooms
In the last few decades, knowledge of how young children learn has been strengthened by findings from neuroscience and developmental research. Yet, contemporary teaching policies and practices do not support what is known—that young children have natural curiosity and creativity and are born literally “wired to learn” through play and active involvement with materials and relationships. Dr. Falk’s presentation will examine how educators can negotiate the challenges presented by our current context to support young children’s optimal development and learning. Strategies will be shared for what educators can do to ensure that teaching the way children learn best endures, with examples of the courage, hope, and joy found in diverse kindergarten classrooms.
Learn More About Dr. Beverly Falk
Saturday Keynote | Melissa A. Butler
Wondering Small and Slow in the Garden
Kindergarten teachers know the value of play and open-ended exploration, yet classrooms get crowded with “one more thing” children “need to be ready for” next year. Kindergarten isn’t a bridge in order to get somewhere in the future. Kindergarten is a present, precious moment—a wildflower field of learning—that deserves to be honored for all that it is. How might our attention to the small and slow expand opportunities for children to wonder, create, and express who they are in the beautiful, rich soils of kindergarten?
Learn More About Melissa A. Butler
Celebrating the 2025 Conference
Advance Your Career at Bank Street
Pursue a master’s degree and learn how to help children from birth to second grade build a healthy foundation for social, emotional, and cognitive growth that will serve them for the rest of their lives.
View Our Early Childhood Programs
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