Lauren Gonzalez M.S.Ed., is an art teacher, yoga instructor, and SEL chairperson whose purpose is to share with educators the strategies she uses to teach with both creativity and heart in the face of stress, burnout, and challenges. With an emphasis on the application of Social and Emotional Learning tools, as well as an integration of the arts and expression, educators will begin to embody practices for self-care, establishing meaningful relationships, facilitating effective communication, and ultimately implementing what is learned to enact social change in their classrooms and communities. Key components of this class will be rooted in mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and creative expression, so come prepared to make art, breathe, and connect.

CTLE Credits – 3 (Language Acquisition Hours / ELL)

Do you have a culturally empowered classroom, or is it possible that your students are struggling with deep-seated feelings of cultural, racial, gender, physical, intellectual, economic, and or social inferiority and self-loathing? Ama Yawson, attorney, Huffington Post Columnist, Mother, Entrepenuer and Author of Sunne’s Gift: How Sunne Overcame Bullying to Reclaim the Gift, presents this dynamic course where participants are acquainted with the historical and current versions of the doll test used in the landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education. She will discuss key findings from the studies and how they relate to children of all backgrounds. This session incorporates journalism, legal analysis, social criticism, and storytelling. The program will also provide art-related tools for discussing sensitive topics such as police brutality and hate crimes with children.

CTLE Credits – 3 (Language Acquisition Hours / ELL)

Selfies may seem like a belly button gazing activity but they give us insight into how young people see themselves. They are the self-portraits of our era. As a teaching artist, I use selfies to launch students into a discussion on cultural identity, mood, tone, background, foreground, etc and connect these elements to writing a short memoir or personal statement for college. Learn how to engage youth with viewing famous works of art by artists who have crafted self-portraits, like Frida Kahlo and explore how to use poetic elements like imagery and metaphor into writing. We’ll examine selfies and fine art as visual prompts, poems, and best college essays from the New York Times. Special attention will be paid to valuing the cultural identities of the youth we teach and reflect that in the poems we compose/read and art we create/view.

Sonia Arora has been teaching literature and humanities for more than 20 years. Her work as a teaching artist takes her into classrooms across Long Island, New York City and Philadelphia where she explores oral history, digital media, poetry, activism, and film-making with youth in elementary, middle and high schools. She has published short fiction, poetry and essays. Publications include: Apiary; Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching; Prompted, an anthology printed by Philadelphia Stories, 3-2-1 Contact, Sonic Boom, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Biostories, Lunch Ticket and more. Last year, one of her poems was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is also an activist and founder of Long Island Together.

CTLE Credits – 3 (Language Acquisition Hours / ELL)

*This workshop will be capped at 40 participants

Marie E. Saint-Cyr, Visual Artist, Art Educator, Arts Administrator, and Entrepreneur, presents this course for educators. She is the founder of Saint-Cyr Art Studio, focusing on administering art programs for: municipalities, healthcare centers, schools, and nonprofits. In this workshop teachers will gain a better understanding of how they can engage a group of students through the process of mural making. Participants will go through the process of design, planning, and implementing a mural. They will receive a sample mural curriculum that they can customize to fit their needs/academic subjects. The curriculum will assist in engaging students to talk about social issues and also how to use art to share their message for change.

CTLE Credits – 3

*This workshop will be capped at 24 participants

One of the challenges of narrative dance is to communicate a story by using only the human body and music. Maurice Brandon Curry, Executive Artistic Director of The Eglevsky Ballet will cover the history of pantomime in ballet productions and share through images and film how pantomime is used most effectively. Additionally, Mr. Curry will direct the class in learning some of the familiar pantomime gestures as well as learning one of the most narrative pantomimes from Eglevsky Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker.” Based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, the workshop will analyze some passages from the original text and choreograph pantomime to accompany the scene. The workshop will also include a short study of “The Nutcracker” as performed around the world, noting how the ballet has been adapted by different cultures.

CTLE Credits – 3 (Language Acquisition Hours / ELL)