Spark

Specialties

Spark provides life-​changing apprenticeships to youth in underserved communities across the United States. Spark is the only youth empowerment program in the country that addresses the dropout crisis by re-​engaging at-​risk students through hands-​on, individualized apprenticeships.

These workplace-​based apprenticeships – in professions each student has identified as a «dream job” – are complemented by a leadership curriculum, workshops, and field trips. The Spark experience creates a powerful sense of relevance for students, while providing the skills and confidence necessary to find success in school and in life.

Spark offers this program to 7^th and 8^th grade students, through summer and after-​school programs, in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. For the 2011 – 2012 school year, Spark plans to expand to its first outside-​of-​California site — Chicago!

History

Established in 2005.

During their time as middle school teachers, co-​founders Chris Balme and Melia Dicker witnessed firsthand a disturbing trend: More than half of the young people in many urban communities were dropping out of high school, and Balme and Dicker felt that this crisis needed to be addressed early – in middle school– with an approach that engages students who were already losing interest in school. They saw that students eagerly engaged with learning when provided with active, collaborative, and personally relevant projects, and believed that professional workplaces could serve as fertile ground for this kind of learning. Inspired by this believe, they launched Spark’s unique apprenticeship model in 2005 as a powerful new approach to re-​engaging at-​risk students and increasing high school retention. In recognition of its innovative and scalable approach, Spark received the internationally renowned Ashoka Fellowship in 2010 and the Draper Richards Fellowship in 2008.