Bank Street School for Children to Co-Host National Conference in March
Bank Street and The School at Columbia University will co-host The National Association of Laboratory Schools (NALS) annual national conference in March. NALS is “committed to leadership in the improvement of education through the development of innovative ideas in research, curriculum development, clinical experiences, and in-service training in an experimental environment.” Currently there is much discussion in the NALS community about fostering more collaborations between children’s schools and the universities/colleges, and the School for Children is excited about the opportunity to think more strategically and globally about its work in this context.
The theme of the conference, which will take place at Bank Street and at Columbia on March 29th, 30th and 31st, 2006, is “Global Thinking: Tools for Learning.” Featured speakers are Jeffrey Sachs (The End of Poverty), Howard Gardner (Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences), and Judith Heumann (Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, former teacher in NYC schools, and pioneer in a range of efforts to guarantee equality of access and opportunity to persons with disabilities). The thematic framework of the conference will include these topics: Developing the Global Citizen, Equity and Justice, Personal and Professional Development, Integrated Learning and Teaching, Individualization and Differentiation, Assessment, Curriculum Development, Families as Partners, Technology, Leadership and Supervision, Research in the School Setting, and a range of topics related to laboratory schools.
The National Association of Laboratory Schools supports the relationships between universities and their P-12 partners—laboratory schools, charter schools, professional development schools, academies, home schools and campus schools—in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Russia, Hong Kong, China, Costa Rica, Singapore and Japan. At the NYC conference, the membership will vote on a new name to reflect the dynamic changes the organization is making as it enters into its 50th year of serving university-affiliated schools.
For more information, contact Alexandra Weisman, at Bank Street (email: aweisman@bankstreet.edu).
