Workshops and Coaching

Join the 52 schools and over 1000 educators that have participated in our SEL initiative through workshops and coaching nationwide!

Our  Social Emotional Learning coach support schools in their efforts to establish classroom routines and practices that boost students’ sense of connection, engagement, and investment at school.

Session Topics:

(Back to School)The Dream Team: Cultivating Positive Partnerships with Parents: When teachers and parents are on the same page, kids thrive. This workshop introduces strategies (protocols, check-ins, and opportunities for collaboration) to promote  joyful, trusting partnerships between educators and parents.

Student as Teacher: Boosting Student Engagement Through Peer to Peer Teaching: Inject energy into your winter/spring semester! Teachers can bolster student engagement, autonomy, and understanding of academic material by providing opportunities for peer-to-peer teaching. As always, practical strategies will be shared.

SEL X Math Instruction: Yes, We’re All Math People: Inspire even the most reluctant students to embrace their inner mathematicians. This workshop introduces practical strategies and resources that will empower students to normalize discomfort while solving tricky problems, to embrace challenges, and to operate with a growth mindset.

The Power of Read Aloud: Fostering Community, Connection, and Metacognition: Read-aloud is where the magic happens. This workshop outlines how teachers and use interactive read-alouds to inspire children to take social, emotional, and academic risks, to connect with one another deeply, and to cultivate self-awareness. 

Proactive and Positive Classroom Management: This workshop outlines how teachers can inspire children to “buy in” to new rules and routines and empower students to self-regulate in challenging moments.

The Power of Student Agency: How Increased Choice Boosts Engagement & Investment in Learning : This highly-practical workshop outlines how weaving opportunities for student agency into all areas of the curricula boosts children’s engagement at school and inspires a love of learning that transcends the classroom.

Teaching Emotional Literacy: How to Help Children Navigate Their Inner Lives and Cultivate Empathy through Reading and Writing Instruction: Emotional literacy—the ability to name, manage, and productively express our feelings and to empathize with the feelings of others—is a skill too often neglected in the traditional teaching model. This workshop outlines how teachers can weave emotional literacy instruction into language arts curricula.

Normalizing Vulnerability in the Classroom: Strategies to Inspire Children to Take Social, Emotional, and Academic Risks : Children who have learned to normalize vulnerability operate with resilience and tackle academic challenges with a growth mindset. This workshop outlines how sharing protocols, feedback frameworks, connection circles, and other techniques inspire children to share openly with—and support—one another.

Windows & Mirrors: Cultivating an Inclusive and Equitable Learning Environment: In today’s increasingly collaborative and diverse world, it’s more important than ever that children learn to understand the gifts and limitations of their own experiences and to think outside themselves to appreciate the perspectives of others. This workshop outlines how teachers can weave a focus on equity and inclusion into all areas of the curricula.

The Words That Shape Us: Everyday Language to Transform How Kids Think, Feel, and Achieve at School: What we say and what we hear creates neural pathways that trigger brand-new patterns of thinking. For instance, a teacher’s unusual pairing of the words “brilliant” and “mistake” in the phrase “what a brilliant mistake!” can rewire how a child responds to making mistakes, replacing feelings of shame with self-compassion and resilience. Teachers who share bite-sized, literally brain-altering language with students can transform how students feel, and therefore do, in the classroom and beyond. Learn simple, affirming language suggestions and practical curricular extensions that help students internalize these transformative phrases.

In person and virtual workshops and coaching available.

Please contact Tamar Appel, Director of Education, at tamar@hiddensparks.org/212-767-7707 to discuss your professional development needs.

Testimonials:

Hear from Rabbi Gavriel Wittlin

Assistant Principal, Orlando Torah Academy

Hear from Chaya Tabor

General Studies Principal, Torah Day School of Phoenix

 

“[Lily Scott] was a powerhouse presenter (someone who is in the classroom, on the front lines, and knows of what she speaks) who shares tip after practical tip in a meaningful and sensitive fashion. She was a real treasure. Honestly, it was one of the most worthwhile and well organized programs I’ve ever had the privilege to be a part of!”

-Teacher, Moriah School of Englewood, NJ


“Having attended PD summits in the past, I usually have a few takeaways that are great and the rest I feel was ok or a waste of time. This summit was WOW! I walked away every single day with practical tools and strategies that I could begin using right away. It was wholesome, rich, inspiring, and mind-blowing.”

-Director of General Studies, Torah Day School of Phoenix, AZ


“Lily Howard Scott is amazing!  Her ideas were relevant and spot on for the environment we are all facing going back to school in September. I love the programs that Hidden Sparks puts together.  The foundation of knowledge that each presenter carries astounds me and the manner in which material is presented is so well thought out and organized.  These presenters inspire me to want to learn more about best practices for educating students”

-Teacher, YBH of Passaic, NJ