LEARNING LENSES
4-Day Professional Development Course
July 16-19th, 2012
Hidden Sparks & The Churchill School, NYC

About Learning Lenses:
Learning Lenses offers courses that help teachers learn how to observe, reflect, assess, and plan for all students in their classrooms. Using multiple lenses—developmental, behavioral, temperamental, ecological, and real-life case studies—teachers will learn strategies for all learners, including those who struggle academically and present challenging social-emotional issues.

Course Syllabus:
Day 1 Overview of Course
Introduction to the Four Lenses of Learning

Day 2 Executive Functioning, Attention and Cognitive Development
Neurodevelopment: Memory and Higher Order Cognition

Day 3 Neurodevelopment: Social Functioning and Language
Introduction to Collaborative Problem Solving

Day 4 Looking at Student Work
Case Studies
Talking to Students About Learning

Instructor and Hidden Sparks leadership bios:

Claire Wurtzel
Claire Wurtzel, Co-Educational Director for Hidden Sparks, recently retired as the Director of Faculty Development for the Churchill School and Center in New York. Prior to this position, Ms. Wurtzel was the Director of Faculty Development for the New York City Schools Attuned initiative for All Kinds of Minds, an institute co-founded by Dr. Mel Levine and Charles Schwab to help educators work effectively with struggling learners. In her capacity as Director, she oversaw Schools Attuned courses, mentor training and facilitator training for over 400 New York City schools. As one of two educational directors for Hidden Sparks, Ms. Wurtzel provides training, supervision and ongoing mentoring to the Hidden Sparks teams of coaches, principals and Internal Coaches. To fulfill long-standing interest in Jewish education, Ms. Wurtzel has worked to adapt the Schools Attuned professional development program for Jewish day schools.

Karen Kruger
Karen Kruger, M.S, Hidden Sparks Director of Education, received her master’s degree from Bank Street College of Education. Karen comes with a wealth of experience in the field, having served as Hidden Sparks’ ICP (Internal Coach Program) School-based mentor for the past year, where she mentored internal coaches, a regional facilitator, and the lead trainer for workshops funded through No Child Left Behind. Working with middle school teachers and administrators from New York City middle schools, Ms. Kruger also served as a field facilitator and course instructor for ‘Schools Attuned’, teaching courses offered by “All Kinds of Minds”, developing curricula for workshops, and mentoring and supervising teachers in grades K-12. Ms. Kruger was an adjunct professor at Bank Street College of Education and has taught in elementary and middle schools from Kindergarten through 8th grade.

Jane Gertler
Jane Gertler, Ph.D., is the Director of The Churchill Center, the Professional Development Center of the Churchill School, a K - 12 school for students with learning disabilities in New York City. Dr. Gertler spent more than 20 years as a school administrator in Westchester, serving as Director of Special Education in Irvington, prior to becoming the Director of Curriculum, Assessment and Professional Development in Edgemont. She is a member of the Board of Education for the Mount Pleasant Cottage School, a residential and day school for special needs students in Pleasantville. She holds a B.S. from Cornell University, a master's in education from New York University, and a doctorate in school administration from Fordham University.

Kate Sussman
Kate Sussman, M.Ed, is a special education consultant in New York City. She worked for seven years with the Opportunity Charter School in Harlem, a full-inclusion school that serves 420 students in grades 6—12, 50% of whom have IEPs. Prior to that she coordinated after school and summer programming for students considered at risk of school drop-out, and worked with teachers from Manhattan Public High Schools on creating inclusive classrooms. Kate has been a facilitator for ‘Schools Attuned’ since 2002, teaching courses offered by All Kinds of Mind. She is also a certified trainer for the University of Kansas Strategic Instruction Model, and a former adjunct instructor at Bank Street College of Education. Kate has worked with teachers from public, private and Jewish day schools, grades K—12.

Esther Kramer
Esther Kramer, Coordinator and Mentor for the Hidden Sparks Internal Coach Program , has been an educator in both the New York City independent schools and the New York City public schools, as well as a faculty member and staff developer of the Special Education Department at Bank Street College of Education. Ms Kramer was the head of the Lower School of the Town School for eight years, and principal and director of the Churchill School and Center in New York. Ms Kramer also served as a facilitator with the Schools Attuned Program from All Kinds of Minds for the New York City public schools. In addition, she co-produced The Open Mind for public television and participated in several research studies