Priya Couchman

Bank Street School for Children '23

In every grade, we experienced  a new interdisciplinary curriculum that helped us  build our sensitivity. We learned about other people—a group that was oppressed or a group that stood up for other people. I think that showed us that for anyone, in any life–you don’t know what they’re going through and you don’t know what their story is. I learned to build that rapport with anyone, knowing that my experience may be very different from their own, and that I have to treat everyone with the same respect that I would want for myself.

When she graduated from Bank Street in 2023, Priya Couchman started high school at Ethical Culture Fieldston School. She continues to pursue several of the interests she discovered at Bank Street, including singing, Bollywood dancing, and journalism. Priya attributes several of the skills she learned at Bank Street to her ability to succeed in high school, such as being able to communicate with teachers, advocate for herself, and ask the right questions.

During the summer, Priya works at the Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End supporting children with disabilities.

She said, “Knowing how to work with kids from different walks of life came from what I learned at Bank Street. I learned how to adapt to different situations and be creative about it.”  

Listen to her describe her greatest takeaways from the School for Children.