Wednesday, July 8, 2009

This ATM Isn’t About Money

Nope – this ATM is the SPARK Annual Trainers Meeting and it’s one of those special things that sets SPARK apart from other organizations. Each year, SPARK brings its top trainers to San Diego for 2+ days of professional and personal growth. The professional comes from constantly striving to improve SPARK workshop agendas, powerpoints, and facilitation techniques. The personal from the friendships that grow when terrific people gather because of a shared passion for children and teaching.

SPARK is a training organization at heart, because we know from research that the most efficacious of what we refer to as the “essential components” (i.e., curriculum, staff development, follow up support, and equipment) is the teacher training. And, if you can change (for the better) the way a teacher teaches, then you have a chance to impact many children over time. So, SPARK invests to find the best presenters, train them well, and support their ongoing development.

Each SPARK program (Early Childhood, After School, Physical Education K-2, 3-6, Middle and High school, and Coordinated School Health) has a Lead Trainer. The Lead Trainers mentor their flock and gather feedback on how to improve their program’s content, instruction, and equipment lists.

Trainers begin as novices and once they complete an extensive training program, they can advance to Certified, Master, and Elite levels. Today, SPARK is proud to have more than a dozen trainers with over a decade worth of experience conducting SPARK workshops. And in this case, experience matters.

So, the next time you’re ready to deposit or withdraw money from your ATM, think about our ATM. Yours might have a lot of cash stored inside, but ours is priceless.

-Paul Rosengard

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