School-Based Professional Development

Recent Projects:

• Developing staff development program prior to the start of the school year at a Washington Heights preschool.
• Coaching teachers of grades 1-4 to support literacy instruction in a Brooklyn Jewish day school.
• Expanding the capacity of math teachers of grades 3 through 8 in a public school in Manhattan.
• Staff development days for 200 Pre-K staff around language acquisition, Funds of Knowledge and family engagement.
• Improving the capacity of teachers in a NYC transfer high school to meet the needs of students with an IEP.
• Supporting Kindergarten and First Grade teachers as they implement Choice Time in a Brooklyn Charter School.
• Supporting a network of early childhood educators from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, in language acquisition, anti-biased education, and child development.
• Increasing the capacity of K-5 teachers to meet the needs of students learning English as a New Language in a public school in Brooklyn.
• Providing an 2-3 day program for visiting scholars. Programs include observations in a variety of local schools followed by facilitated discussion around participants observations and the implications for their teaching practice. PreK – 12th grade Scholars from Coastal Carolina University (Spring 2018, 2019 and 2020), Early Childhood Educators form Detroit (Spring 2018), Educators from early childhood centers in Singapore (Spring 2017).

Staff Developers:

Dr. Candace Barriteau Phaire is an Assistant Professor in the early childhood/childhood program at The College of New Rochelle Graduate School of Education. Previously, she was an elementary school teacher at a public school in Brooklyn. She has also served as an Early Childhood Science Evaluator and Early Childhood Literacy Coach for the Educational Development Center (EDC) in New York City. In addition, Phaire is a Curriculum Specialist for Teach for America during the New York City Summer Institute. She received her PhD from New York University in the Department of Teaching and Learning, her MSEd in Elementary Education from Brooklyn College, and her BA in Political Science from Spelman College.

Carmen Colón, MA, is an Advisor and Instructor at the graduate school at Bank Street College of Education. She has been an Educational Consultant in Curriculum Development in Dual language, General and Special Education practice and previously taught K-2nd grades. In addition, Ms. Colón has been an Instructional Coach for NYC Summer Quest and a Professional Development facilitator for the NYC Department of Education. She earned an MS Degree in Dual Language/Bilingual Early Childhood Special & General Education from Bank Street College of Education. She holds a BA in Management Information Systems from Pace University.

Abigail Kerlin is an adjunct professor at Bank Street Graduate School of Education, where she teaches child development and curriculum courses and is the Academic Director of the Long Trips. In addition, she teaches courses at Hunter College and has supervised student teachers at Teachers College, Columbia University. Previously, Kerlin was a K–3rd grade Head Teacher at a public elementary school in New York City. She holds an MA in Human Development from Teachers College, Columbia University and an MSEd in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College.

For more than 40 years, Wendy Pollock was a principal and director of early childhood centers and elementary schools in Yonkers, New York, and the Director of the Riverdale Y Early Childhood Programs in Riverdale, New York. Pollock was a facilitator for the 2014 Summer Institute for Teachers and served as the Project Director for the Pre-K for All professional development collaboration between Bank Street and the NYC DOE during the 2015–16 school year. Previously, she was the director of Bank Street’s Early Childhood Leadership program and has been an instructor in that program for 27 years. Pollock earned an EdD in Curriculum and Teaching and an MA in Psychology of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, an MEd in Educational Leadership from Bank Street College, and a BA in early childhood education/child development from Sarah Lawrence College.

Ellis Scope, Ph.D. is the Director for the Progressive Leadership program in the Leadership Department at Bank Street College of Education. She mentors aspiring leaders and teaches courses in instructional supervision and meeting the needs of diverse learners. Prior to coming to Bank Street she worked for the New York City Department of Education for 30 over years as a teacher of students with special needs, administrator, and high school principal. Her interests are collaborative practice, instructional supervision, meeting the needs of diverse learners, and mentoring aspiring leaders in the principal preparation program. She consults with school districts and nonprofit organizations on creating professional learning structures that are aligned to principles of adult learning and development. She has travelled to Europe to work with school leaders to support them with building collaborative structures that support the implementation of innovative educational practices. She earned a Doctorate in Educational Psychology from Fordham University.