18th Annual Retreat Hosted in Manhattan

Hidden Sparks 18th Annual Retreat was hosted in the Moise Safra Center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan of February 13th. Over 8- educators from across the NY-Metro area came together for a day of learning to collaborate on developing their skills and toolboxes for creating a positive and supportive environment  for their students.

Chana Luchins, Principal of General Studies at RPRY, has been participating in Hidden Sparks programs for many years, and attends the learning retreat annually, “The Hidden Sparks retreat creates a venue for like-minded educators to accelerate their forward-thinking momentum. I appreciate the qualities of warmth, intentionality, collaboration and joy palpable in the program.”

Debbie Niderberg, Executive Director of Hidden Sparks, has been hosting this retreat for over a decade. “This year’s theme about the interconnectedness of emotion and learning was especially powerful given October 7th, the war in Israel, the rise in antisemitism in the US, and all of the emotions that teachers and students are experiencing. The retreat gave us the language for exploring emotions in our classrooms and talking with students, a deeper understanding of how anxiety manifests at different ages, how schools can foster a culture of belonging and support, and how to apply all of the day’s take-a-ways to teacher’s practice. Above all, it was an inspiring day full of deep learning, large  and small strategies, and an opportunity to celebrate our extraordinary teachers.”