Celebrating our Fourth Summer of Week-Long Retreats

This summer, the Mindful Schools Program Team celebrated their 4th season of week-long retreats. We welcomed the class of 2017 into our Year-Long Certification Program, and said good-bye for now to the class of 2016.

Welcome Class of 2017
Teachers work with participants at the Garrison Institute. At two beautiful locations — Garrison Institute in New York and the Earthrise Retreat Center in California — the new cohort of 190 mindful practitioner/educators began a year of growth, study, and sharing.  As this program expands, we are attracting a more international roster of participants, who deepen our experience of the expanding field of mindfulness in education. We have eight participants from Canada, six from Australia, four from Mexico, two from both Thailand and the Philippines, and some solo pioneers as well, representing France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Montenegro, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Thank You Class of 2016
A circle of participants laugh and share ideas on the retreat. Program teachers Megan Cowan, Chris McKenna, Pam Dunn, Vinny Ferraro, Matthew Brensilver, and Oren J. Sofer spent a week with the 150 extraordinary members of the 2016 class. They finished their year with days of silent practice and rich conversations about how mindfulness changes us and transforms our professional lives. We hiked, did yoga, made art, watched stars, ate well, and hooted with joy as we demonstrated curriculum ideas and gave sample classes for one another. We left with many promises to stay connected and continue working together.

As the Retreat Manager, I felt both joyful and humbled to sit with so many passionate mindfulness practitioners and educators from all over the globe. I look forward to staying connected to everyone who has gone through this remarkable program. If you are interested in finding out about the next Year-Long Certification Program, please contact Christina Costelo.


Mindful Schools transforms school communities from the inside out. Founded in 2007, Mindful Schools’ graduates have impacted over 750,000 children worldwide. You can learn more about our online course offerings, Mindfulness Fundamentals and Mindful Educator Essentials, and our Year-Long Certification at mindfulschools.org.

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