This Saturday, June 17, the Guttman Center for Early Care & Education at Bank Street College held a commencement ceremony in Brooklyn, NY for the program’s inaugural cohort. A total of eleven practitioners from both center-based and family childcare centers completed the five-month program, which consisted of integrated coaching visits and coursework to help deepen participants’ understanding of child development and strengthen their practice in working with families, infants, and toddlers.
“The graduation was a true celebration of the cohort’s commitment to serving children and we are thrilled with the progress of the program’s first year in East New York,” said Dr. Robin Hancock, Director of the Guttman Center for Early Care & Education. “We are proud to partner with the East New York community to co-create a program of professional development that leverages the strengths of both Bank Street’s expertise and each provider’s knowledge and experience. Our goal is to help facilitate a network of providers who will continue to learn from and support each other long after graduation.”
The ceremony included remarks by Dr. Hancock; Dr. Virginia Casper, faculty lead for the Guttman Center for Early Care & Education; Ana Francis, a representative from the office of Inez Barron, Council Woman of East New York; and keynote speaker Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Senior Advisor to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who spoke to the audience about the importance of using the program and their relationships with each other as a stepping stone for future success.
Recruitment for the next year’s Guttman cohort is underway in East New York. For more information, please contact Robin Hancock at rhancock@bankstreet.edu.