Schools with progressive curriculum? (preschools, live, moving)

[anne_nyc]

Hi! I toured the Brooklyn New School today which has a very progressive curriculum for a public school. I got to wondering if there was anything similar in Westchester? Has anyone run across anything like this?

Thanks!
Carolyn

[rubygreta]

What do you mean by a progressive curriculum?

[anne_nyc]

The school I visited basis their curriculum off the Bank St model that follows the idea of a child led education. They still use the NY state curriculum but will do extra projects and have a good mix of art and music. They try to use all the different ways of learning to teach the children. Also, once testing starts, they use self-evaluations instead instead of the standardized tests every six weeks. They do take the 3rd grade test that all students take here in the city. Finally, they also take field trips every 2 weeks or so to take the learning into the community as well as to community service as part of their regular routines. I found it soooo appealing, but we are pretty committed to moving out of Brooklyn to find more space, backyard, etc.

Thanks!
Carolyn

Here's a link to the description by the school: BNS Curriculum

[dma1250]

Maybe I'm wrong, but sadly I don't think any Westchester Public Schools have a Bank Street/project approach curriculum. There are private schools that do, however--and plenty of preschools. Interestingly, the overall poor quality of education in city schools has led to the creation of some charter schools with very progressive approaches. Since schools are pretty good in Westchester, there is less impetus for parents to go through the great trouble of founding a charter school. As a Bank Street graduate, it makes me glad to see the model live on outside of private schools.