Kerlins
Say Thanks With $8 Million to Bank Street and Wave Hill
Bank
Street College of Education and Wave Hill are pleased to announce
that the two New York City institutions have each received a $4-million
gift from Sally and Gilbert Kerlin.
“Because
both Wave Hill and Bank Street provide experiential, hands-on
learning, for children and adults, it is fitting that we
announce these gifts simultaneously,” said Gilbert Kerlin.
This gift, one of the largest gifts in Bank Street’s history,
was made to establish the Sally Kerlin Endowment for the Teaching
of the Natural and Environmental Sciences. It will provide support
to strengthen the teaching of the natural and environmental sciences
in public schools and the Bank Street School for Children. The
gift will help enrich and expand Bank Street’s science education
work both in its on-site demonstration school and in the public
schools throughout New York City, as well as other urban centers
in the tri-state area where the College operates programs and
places teachers.
The gift to Wave Hill creates the Sally and Gilbert Kerlin Endowment
Fund at Wave Hill for Environmental Science and Nature Education.
As Wave Hill’s largest gift to date, it will provide ongoing support
for a broad spectrum of educational programming that serves over
20,000 school children, teenagers, families, and adults each year.
“With
these gifts, we are giving back to the institutions that have
given and continue to give so much to our family. Both Bank Street
and Wave Hill have long played a significant role in the lives
of our family. For more than six decades and several generations,
Bank Street has witnessed the graduation of the women in our family.
And today, teachers throughout the five boroughs, including those
at Bank Street’s School for Children and Graduate School, bring
their students to Wave Hill, where all are immersed in the pleasures
and wonders of garden and woodland,” said Gilbert Kerlin.
Sally Kerlin, who died soon after the gift was made, was a Bank
Street alumna, class of 1936, and a Life Trustee of Bank Street
College of Education. She graduated with a master’s in Special
Education and Elementary Education. Their daughter Sarah received
her master’s in Special Education from Bank Street in 1972. And
Abby, their granddaughter and the niece of Sarah, earned her master’s
in Teacher Education in 2000.
“Bank
Street is indeed fortunate to have been enriched in many ways
by the contributions and involvement of the Kerlin family over
three generations,” said Elizabeth S. Pforzheimer, Chair of Bank
Street’s Board of Trustees.
Mr. Kerlin is the Founding Chairman of Wave Hill and has been
a member of the Board of Directors for the past 36 years. “Gil’s
insightful leadership guided the creation of Wave Hill as a public
garden and cultural center. He and Sally, one of the visionary
founders of Wave Hill’s education curriculum, together made a
very important contribution to our City,” said David Beim, Wave
Hill Board Chairman.
Mr. and Mrs. Kerlin, both strong proponents of progressive education,
have championed environmental education through the Kerlin Learning
Center at Wave Hill.
“You
could say that Wave Hill and Bank Street College of Education
are a wonderful marriage. Sally and Gil’s generous gift, a validation
of Bank Street’s mission, will expand and enhance our ability
to give ongoing support to teachers both within and outside the
walls of Bank Street. This very special investment also recognizes
the importance of scholarship opportunities to attract and retain
talented and committed classroom teachers,” said Dr. Augusta Souza
Kappner, president of Bank Street College of Education.
“This
significant gift enables two programs that are indispensable to
the education of our children to endure and grow. We are especially
honored to receive this gift jointly with Bank Street because
of our common philosophies, reinforced by Bank Street’s Dean of
Education Fern Khan, a Wave Hill Board Member, and our Director
of Education, Margot Perron, a Bank Street graduate,” said Kate
French, Wave Hill Executive Director and President.
Since 1916, Bank Street College of Education has been a nationally
recognized leader in early childhood education, a pioneer in improving
the quality of classroom education, and a national advocate for
children and families. The Bank Street School for Children, an
independent demonstration school for Bank Street College of Education,
educates more than 400 boys and girls from ages three to thirteen
and serves as a working model for the College’s progressive approach
to teaching.
Wave Hill is a 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking
the Hudson River and the Palisades in the Riverdale section of
the Bronx. Award-winning gardens, greenhouses, and woodlands offer
people of all ages the opportunity to explore their connections
to the natural world. Programs are offered in horticulture, environmental
education, land management, landscape history, and the visual,
performing, and literary arts.#
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