Professional Development Programs

The Hidden Sparks External Coach Program offers school-based training, coaching, and mentoring in understanding and teaching to diverse learners. Through this program,  a senior Hidden Sparks “external coach” spends a day a week working with teams of Judaic and general studies teachers, conducts classroom based student observations, provides mentoring for teachers, and facilitates monthly collaborative Hidden Sparks meetings to review learning profiles and teaching strategies for struggling learners.

Throughout the year, teachers learn about neurodevelopment, temperament and ecology in order to deepen their understanding of students. Specifically, they explore topics such as attention, memory, language, sequencing, social cognition, higher order thinking, and temperament as well as  strategies for working with students whose challenges are impacting their learning.

The Hidden Sparks Internal Coach Program trains peer coaches to help you meet your student’s diverse needs. They become resident experts and resources to your faculty in understanding and supporting all learners. The designated faculty member(s) will receive training and on-site mentoring in understanding and teaching to diverse learning styles, strategies for struggling students, and skill development to become peer coaches.

Hidden Sparks Without Walls is a webinar series designed for educators and administrators serving Jewish day schools. Varied course topics are offered to deepen classroom teachers’ pedagogic knowledge and practice and enhance their understanding of learning, behavior and differentiated instruction. Hidden Sparks Without Walls/Parent Connection is a webinar series that offers parents a way to deepen their understanding of learning and behavior. All Hidden Sparks Without Walls webinars—for teachers and parents—are available on our archive and can be viewed free of charge.

Hidden Sparks is available to customize coaching and workshop offerings to meet your school’s needs. Schools are welcome to use their Title I, IIA, & III funds to cover the cost of these services.