2026 SPARC National Conference

Free play gives children a chance to work on their decision making, self regulation, friendships, personal interests and more! So much of a child's life is structured that they can easily miss out on the benefits of what it's like to manage your own time. Many kids know exactly what they want to do when school is out and many others are happy to do what their friends want to do. Some kids even feel bored when they don't have things scheduled for them AND THAT IS GREAT! All children are infinitely creative and as adults, we need to know when to back off and let their brains do some of this critical work. As teachers and program directors, there is a temptation to fill all of our kids' days with fun activities, check ins, social emotional programming and more, but in this case, less can be more! There is certainly a place for programming after school but it's not the only thing we should be doing for our kids. They need freedom, choice, boredom, risk, adventure, friendships and more that they can get naturally just by being in proximity with other kids.

In an increasingly isolated and screen-driven world, Gen Alpha needs intentional opportunities to connect, collaborate, and communicate in meaningful ways.

This session brings educators and camp leaders together to explore how we can design programs that foster real connection using students’ existing interests as a bridge to deeper engagement and skill-building. We’ll break down practical strategies that can be applied across classrooms, camps, and enrichment spaces. Together, we’ll examine how to move students from passive consumption to active participation, and how to structure experiences that build collaboration, communication, and confidence.

In the competitive summer camp market how do you make your camp memorable? How do you keep families coming back year after year? How do you keep families engaged all year round?

Join me for a fun and interactive presentation on how to keep your campers (and their families) returning to you for years to come!

Join us for a fun and informative session where we’ll introduce our new Camp Assistant program. Our CAs are not just volunteers; they’re role models, leaders, and a vital part of creating a fun, safe, and memorable experience for every camper. We’ll cover everything from the application process, teacher recommendations, the interview, and the leadership skills and training we provided. We’ll also give you a sneak peek at our first annual Summer Bash Open House, an exciting, free event where families got to meet staff, get familiar with campus, and experience carnival-themed games and snacks. As part of their training, CAs helped run the event, welcoming families and representing our program with confidence. By the end of the session, you’ll have a clear picture of how our CA program builds leadership, responsibility, and real-world experience while helping create a summer our campers will never forget.

What makes sleep-away camp so memorable, and how can independent schools bring that same sense of belonging, joy, and growth into their day camp programs? In this session, we’ll explore some core elements that make camp experiences truly meaningful and translate them into practical strategies for day-camp camps in the independent school setting.

Together, we’ll dig into how to build strong relationships with campers, create intentional traditions, design “wow” moments that kids remember, and foster independence, confidence, and creativity for both campers and staff. We’ll also look at how staff energy, camp culture, and transition unscheduled time shape the overall experience.This session will leave participants with concrete tools and fresh ideas to elevate engagement, deepen connections, and make camp feel purposeful and aligned with our schools’ own missions.

How do you grow your programs without overloading your staff? This session shares a practical approach to balancing teacher-led and vendor-led offerings. Using a two-year example, we’ll show how shifting vendors into summer and focusing teachers on school-year enrichment reduced burnout, avoided repeated classes, and improved enrollment.

You’ll gain insight into what makes a school a strong partner, common communication breakdowns, and key questions to ask vendors before partnering. We’ll also explore why some teachers thrive in enrichment, how vendors can complement faculty strengths, and best practices that support smooth operations and student safety. Walk away with clear strategies for using the right people at the right time to build a strong, sustainable program.

Every enrichment director in this room has watched it happen — kids who can't sit with boredom, can't tolerate discomfort, can't put the phone down. The research is finally catching up to what we've known for years. At Park School, we stopped waiting for a solution and built one: we brought in Fire & Knives, a structured outdoor skills program centered on fire safety, knife handling, and real competence-building. No screens. No passive learning. Just kids doing hard things and discovering they're capable of them.

This SPARCburst is part cultural diagnosis, part field report — what we saw in our students, what parents said, and what we'd tell any enrichment director thinking about doing the same.

Have you ever thought about opening up your afterschool and/or summer programming to students from outside of your school? In this session, we will share an example of how one school does this and all of the reasons why it enhances your program and school community.

How can strategic game play help students build the skills they need for success in school and life? In this engaging, hands-on workshop, educators will explore how games can be powerful tools for developing critical 21st century skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, resilience, metacognition, and executive functioning. Through Nexplore’s signature Games Methodology (Play. Learn. Apply.), participants will experience how mind and strategy games teach students how to think, not what to think.

Attendees will learn the educational rationale behind using enrichment to support the whole child, participate in interactive game-based activities using tools such as Rush Hour and Quoridor, and discover practical strategies to transfer learning from game play into academic content and real-life situations. Participants will leave with a ready-to-use toolbox of activities and techniques to strengthen student engagement, social-emotional growth, and future-ready thinking skills in the classroom.