Individual recollections of Bank Street's rich history are included in these oral histories. Through story telling, those that experienced and shaped the institution become a part of preserving its past. This collection includes interviews conducted by previous Bank Street Archivist Brett Dion between 2018 and 2021, and several digitized oral histories from The Bank Street Archives Edith Lisolette Gordon collection. The Archives also contains a number of non-digitized cassette tapes with oral histories conducted by Gordon that document the early to mid-twentieth century history of the College.
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Early Childhood Education, Head Start, and The Creative Curriculum: A Conversation with Diane Trister Dodge
Diane Trister Dodge
In this hour-long conversation for the Yale Education Studies program, Diane Trister Dodge presents on her life and work, including her experiences at Bank Street College of Education, Head Start, and creating The Creative Curriculum. Dr. Carla Horwitz and Josie Steuer-Ingall (YC '24) moderate.
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Muriel Mandell, Oral History of the Children's Book Committee
Muriel Mandell
Muriel Mandell, writer and educator, gives a history of the Children's Book Committee, which she joined in 1983. She is the author of a dozen books for children and taught in New York City from kindergarten to graduate school. In recent years she has written and adapted more than 50 stories for an app for young children, and to this day remains an editor of the Children's Book Committee annual list.
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Dr. Marguerite Thompson, Interviewed by Brett Dion
Marguerite Thompson
Past Bank Street Archivist Brett Dion interviews Dr. Marguerite Thompson on video. During the interview, Abigail Kerlin, a teacher at Bank Street, joins and asks Dr. Thompson several questions as well. Topics include Dr. Thompson's childhood in Louisiana, her experience with Quaker education, her time teaching at Bank Street, the Weeksville School, Black history and communities, and more.
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Micheline Thomas, Interviewed by Brett Dion
Micheline Thomas
Past Bank Street Archivist Brett Dion interviews Micheline Thomas, who joined the Bank Street library staff in 1985. Topics include changes in Bank Street throughout her time working at the library, and reflections on how the school impacted her.
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Dr. Sal Vascellaro, Interviewed by Brett Dion 1
Sal Vascellaro
Past Bank Street Archivist Brett Dion interviews Dr. Salvatore "Sal" Vascellaro, graduate faculty at Bank Street since 1988. He is both a Supervised Fieldwork Advisor and Course instructor at Bank Street. This is the first of 2 interviews that Brett conducted with Sal, the second interview that took place on June 22, 2018 can be found here.
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Dr. Sal Vascellaro, Interviewed by Brett Dion 2
Sal Vascellaro
Past Bank Street Archivist Brett Dion interviews Dr. Salvatore "Sal" Vascellaro, graduate faculty at Bank Street since 1988. He is both a Supervised Fieldwork Advisor and Course instructor at Bank Street. This is the second of 2 interviews that Brett conducted with Sal, the previous interview that took place on June 5, 2018 can be found here.
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John Niemeyer, Interviewed by Bill Hooks and Letta Gaines
John Niemeyer
In this video, Bill Hooks, then Director of Publications at Bank Street, and Letta Gaines, then member of Bank Street faculty, interview John Niemeyer, the first official President of Bank Street. Topics include the impact of Bank Street College in the field of early education, John's leadership role, and the historical mission of the school to change the way people are educated in order to change society.
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Josette Frank, Interviewed by Edith Gordon
Josette Frank
Josette Frank, an editor of anthologies for children, served for many years as the Executive Director of the Child Study Association of America and was the first editor of the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street. She is interviewed here in 1978 by Edith Lisolette Gordon who was conducting oral histories that would inform her doctoral dissertation on the history of progressive education at Bank Street. Discussion topics include Frank's work with the Child Study Association of America (CSAA), her experience being a working mother, the Bureau of Educational Experiments (BEE) Nursery School, her recollection of certain educators and school leadership, and more.
From the Edith Lisolette Gordon Papers, Series C, Box 5, Bank Street College Archives, New York, NY.
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Alice Mendham Powell, Interviewed by Edith Gordon
Alice Mendham Powell
Dr. Alice Mendham Powell, who founded the Green Acres School in 1934, is interviewed here in 1978 by Edith Lisolette Gordon who was conducting oral histories that would inform her doctoral dissertation on the history of progressive education at Bank Street.
From the Edith Lisolette Gordon Papers, Series C, Box 6, Bank Street College Archives, New York, NY.
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Arnold Mitchell, Interviewed by Edith Gordon
Arnold Mitchell
Edith Lisolette Gordon interviews Arnold Mitchell, son of Bank Street's founder Lucy Sprague Mitchell, as background research for her dissertation on the history of Bank Street College.
From the Edith Lisolette Gordon Papers, Series C, Box 6, Bank Street College Archives, New York, NY.
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William "Bill" Hooks, Interviewed by Edith Gordon
William "Bill" H. Hooks
William Hooks, a publisher and author of children's books, is interviewed here in 1975 by Edith Lisolette Gordon who was conducting oral histories that would inform her doctoral dissertation on the history of progressive education at Bank Street. Hooks, who grew up in North Carolina, joined the Bank Street Research Division in 1958, simultaneously staging opera workshops at Brooklyn College and doing freelance dancing and writing. He discusses moving to the Bank Street Publications Division in the early 1960s and working on the Early Childhood Discovery Materials with Irma Black, the process of publishing an ethnically integrated series and creating audiovisual materials for children, and more.
From the Edith Lisolette Gordon Papers, Series C, Box 5, Bank Street College Archives, New York, NY.