Spark’s mission is to provide 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 middle school students and providing a relevant context for their learning through hands-on, individualized apprenticeships. These workplace-based apprenticeships- in professions each student has identified as his or her “dream job”- are complemented by a leadership curriculum that is taught at school. Over the course of an eight-week session, students meet with their Apprentice Teachers (mentors) once a week for two hours and work on a project for the culminating Career Day or Discovery Night ceremony that is held at the end of the session. The Spark experience creates a powerful sens of relevance for students, while providing the skills and confidence necessary to find success in school and in life. Spark has been successfully operating programs in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and is now in Chicago! For more information on Spark, visit www.sparkprogram.org