The inspiration to start Spark came from the experiences of co-founders Chris Balme and Melia Dicker. As students themselves, both were eager for learning opportunities outside the classroom, and wished that school were more relevant to their interests. They watched many of their peers disengage from school, and others graduate college without knowing how to make their dreams happen—or even understanding what those dreams were.

Later, as teachers, tutors, and after-school leaders, Chris and Melia began to study learning programs that empower students to discover and pursue their passions. They visited schools around the country and around the world, researching these student-centered, community-based approaches to education. Finally, in 2004 they founded Spark. Spark is built around one-on-one apprenticeships, with a mission of inspiring middle-school youth to pursue their interests, create bonds with their communities, and develop a lifelong passion for learning.

In 2005, Spark’s pilot summer session in Redwood City, CA graduated 11 students, who each completed an apprenticeship in a field of interest, from aviation to medicine to interior design. The results of the pilot program showed that Spark participants gained self-confidence and self-awareness, and felt more able to pursue the learning opportunities that most interested them. Graduates significantly increased their awareness of the resources available to them--community resources such as libraries, and human resources such as their own personal connections – and were more confident to draw on those resources to enrich their learning.

Building on this success, and with the encouragement of local families, schools, foundations and other supporters, Spark has grown significantly in the past few years. From the first pilot site at one school in Redwood City, Spark now operates three sites in the Bay Area (San Francisco, Redwood City, and San Rafael), successfully piloted programs in Los Angeles in 2010, and plans to expand to Chicago for the 2011-2012 school year. Spark's programs have received increasing recognition, including the internationally renowned Draper Richards Fellowship in September 2008, recognizing Spark's model as uniquely positioned for growth and broad social impact on a national level, and the prestigious Ashoka Fellowship in 2010, the highest honor for social entrepreneurs in the world.

Throughout this growth, Spark’s core approach remains the same: to enable students to develop as leaders and learners as they pursue a personal learning interest through hands-on apprenticeships. 

Jessica's Spark Story

During her summer apprenticeship, Jessica learned the arts of cooking and pastry-making with her Apprentice Teacher.