At a Glance
A progressive lab school where children's curiosity drives learning through direct experience.
Best suited for
Families who want a progressive, child-centered elementary education and genuinely value small classes, integrated social-emotional learning, and a diverse, intellectually engaged community — and who can sustain a high-end tuition commitment through elementary.
What stands out
- It is the lab school of Bank Street College of Education, so its faculty actively train and shape the developmental-interaction approach that defines its classrooms.
- A 6:1 student-teacher ratio is unusually low for a private elementary, allowing for highly individualized attention.
- The developmental-interaction approach explicitly integrates social-emotional growth with academic learning rather than treating them separately.
- Bank Street has been a national thought leader in early childhood and progressive education for generations, and the school benefits from that institutional knowledge.
- Total enrollment of just 376 keeps the community small enough that students cycle through and families know one another across grades.
Things to consider
- Tuition ranges from roughly $45,540 to $71,545 — well above the citywide private elementary median and a serious long-term commitment.
- The progressive, child-centered philosophy is a real fit question — children coming from more traditional settings, or families wanting a highly structured environment, may find the approach takes adjustment.
- As a lab school, classrooms may include student-teachers, observers, and education researchers; families should be comfortable with that openness.
- The PK–5 grade span means families will face a separate middle school search, and Bank Street's progressive approach is not always easy to replicate downstream.
- While the 1 train makes Morningside Heights very accessible for Upper West Side, Harlem, and Washington Heights families, commutes from downtown Brooklyn, Queens, or the Lower East Side are longer.
Identity
Founded as the laboratory school of Bank Street College of Education, this nonsectarian progressive elementary program has helped define the developmental-interaction approach for nearly a century. It is coeducational and serves PK through grade 5, with a faculty that trains and is trained in Bank Street's signature philosophy.
Community
At 376 students with a 6:1 student-teacher ratio, this is one of the smallest private elementary programs in the city and families tend to know each other well. The student body is racially and ethnically mixed — White students are the largest single group, with substantial Hispanic, multiracial, Black, and Asian representation — and parent reviews consistently highlight the warmth and openness of the community.
Neighborhood
Morningside Heights is a notably scholarly Upper Manhattan neighborhood anchored by Columbia University and surrounding institutions, with about 71% of adult residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher and a median household income around $97,000. The blocks around West 112th Street have a campus-town feel — bookstores, libraries, and family-friendly side streets mixed in with academic buildings — and the population skews educated and civically engaged.
The 1 train serves the school directly: Cathedral Pkwy (110 St) is about a 3-minute walk, 116 St-Columbia University about 5 minutes, and 103 St about 9 minutes.
Notable Programs
What Parents Are Saying
Positive reviews rated 4.2/5 and 3.9/5 describe an incredible community with best-in-class teachers, warm and diverse environment, strong social-emotional development, critical thinking focus, and active parent community
Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades Pre-K to 5 in Morningside Heights.
- What grades does BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION serve?
- BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION?
- BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
- Is BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION public, charter, or private?
- BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION is a private school.
- What neighborhood is BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION in?
- BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION is in Morningside Heights, Manhattan.