Kindergarten plays a critical and unique role in a child’s life. It is a year filled with discovery, wonder, friendship and creativity – when language, literacy, science and math take on real meaning through play and active learning. Yet, in many classrooms, experiential learning is marginalized as kindergarten is fast becoming the new first grade. The Teaching Kindergarten Conference provides an opportunity for educators to come together and address this challenge.
March 13 and 14, 2026
Friday from 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM ET
Saturday from 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM ET
Submit a Workshop Proposal for the Conference. More details will be available soon!
“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.
Dr. Beverly Falk is professor and director emerita of the Graduate Programs in Early Childhood Education at The School of Education, The City College of New York. She is the director of the High Quality Early Learning Project, an online collection of videos and related resources that showcase the practices and pedagogies of high-quality early childhood education. Dr. Falk has served as classroom teacher, childcare center director, public school founder and director, district administrator, researcher, policy advocate, and consultant—at the school, district, state, and national level. The founding editor of The New Educator, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal about educator preparation, Dr. Falk is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, as well as the author of many publications. Throughout her career, her work has focused on supporting understandings about how children learn, with the goal of ensuring that our youngest, most vulnerable citizens—especially those in historically underserved, culturally/linguistically diverse urban communities—have access to high-quality learning opportunities.
2026 registration details coming soon!
Friday, March 13, 2026
| Time (ET) | Activity | Room |
| 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Welcome and Keynote “Teaching the Way Children Learn: Finding Courage, Hope, and Joy in Kindergarten Classrooms” Dr. Beverly Falk |
Auditorium |
| 6:00 PM – 6:15 PM | Break and pick up dinner | |
| 6:15 PM – 7:15 PM | Working groups | Various |
| 7:15 PM – 7:30 PM | Break | |
| 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM | Arts Gathering with Emily Meisner | 9th Floor Gym |
Saturday, March 14, 2026
| Time (ET) | Activity | Room |
| 9:30 AM – 11:00 PM | Morning Roundtables | Auditorium, CDR, 613/614 |
| 11:00 AM – 11:15 AM | Break | |
| 11:15 AM – 11:30 AM | Welcome from Dean Suzanne McCotter | Auditorium |
| 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM | Keynote: TBA | Auditorium |
| 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM | Break and pick up lunch | Lobby |
| 1:o0 PM – 2:00 PM | Working Groups | Various |
| 2:00 PM – 2:15 PM | Break | |
| 2:15 PM – 4:15 PM | Hands-on workshops | Various |
| 4:15 PM – 5:00 PM | Closing celebration | Lobby |
Check Whova for Zoom rooms.
Friday, March 13, 2026
| Time (ET) | Activity |
| 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Welcome and Keynote “Teaching the Way Children Learn: Finding Courage, Hope, and Joy in Kindergarten Classrooms” Dr. Beverly Falk |
| 6:00 PM – 6:15 PM | Break |
| 6:15 – 7:15 PM | Working groups |
Saturday, March 14, 2026
| Time (ET) | Activity |
| 11:15 AM – 11:30 AM | Welcome from Dean Suzanne McCotter |
| 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM | Keynote: TBA |
| 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM | Break |
| 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Working groups |
| 2:00 PM – 2:15 PM | Break |
| 2:15 PM – 4:15 PM | Hands-on Workshops |
TBA
Bank Street is honored to offer the annual Teaching Kindergarten Conference with the generous support of the Fran Strauss Early Childhood Endowment. A Bank Street alumna, Fran had a passionate belief that young students develop a joy for learning through a multi-sensory progressive education.
Betsy Grob is an early childhood specialist who served on the faculty of Bank Street College for over 20 years. She currently advises students in the Graduate Program in Early Childhood Education at City College and at City College’s Center for Worker Education, both in New York City. In addition, Grob facilitates professional development for early childhood educators in the New York metropolitan area as well as in many countries around the world including Sierra Leone, Chile, Romania, Mongolia, and Azerbaijan. She has taught kindergarten, first grade, and early childhood Spanish in New York City and Colorado. Grob is co-author of Teaching Kindergarten: Learner-Centered Classrooms for the 21st Century (Teachers College Press, 2015) and is co-author of The Right to Learn: Preparing Early Childhood Teachers to Work in High-Needs Schools (Bank Street College’s Occasional Paper Series, Number 25, 2010). She holds an MS in and an EdM in education, both from Bank Street College.
Fretta Reitzes has been a classroom teacher, educational therapist, teaching artist, parent educator, and author. During her thirty-five year tenure at the 92nd Street Y, she was the founder and director of the annual Wonderplay Conference, director of the Y’s Goldman Center for Youth & Family, and director of the Parenting Center. Presently, she consults with early childhood teachers, administrators, and school leadership. In 2016, Reitzes developed On-Kindness, a project that provides tools and perspectives about creating a culture of kindness and presents lectures/ workshops at schools, universities and community centers. She is adjunct faculty at City College’s Center for Worker Education in New York City. Reitzes is co-author of Teaching Kindergarten: Learner-Centered Classrooms for the 21st Century (Teachers College Press, 2015); WonderPlay, and WonderPlay Too! (Running Press, 1995 and 2005), and The Right to Learn: Preparing Early Childhood Teachers to Work in High-Needs Schools (Bank Street College’s Occasional Paper Series, Number 25, 2010). She holds an MSEd in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College.
