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A New Way to Do School | Follow Us
About SparkNC
SparkNC gives North Carolina’s students a competitive edge on their way to high-wage and socially impactful careers, providing a dynamic, homegrown talent pipeline for our state and our communities.
Our Vision
Imagine a future where every North Carolina student has the skills to thrive in a world transformed by technology. SparkNC is using an innovative educational approach to make that future a reality.
SparkNC empowers students to discover careers in fields like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, software development, and computer systems engineering. We help schools move away from traditional classes and rigid schedules. Instead, students choose what, where, and how they learn. And lab leaders have flexibility to use innovative strategies to deliver instruction in engaging ways to students across the state.
We offer an extensive and evolving catalog of learning experiences to give students different paths to gain knowledge and build skills, and to showcase what they learn in personalized digital portfolios of work. We also help students connect with industry experts through in-person events, team-based internships, and other rich experiences.
SparkNC gives students a competitive edge on their way to high-wage and socially impactful careers, providing a dynamic talent pipeline for North Carolina.
Learning Continuum
SparkNC accelerates learners’ progress along a continuum that prepares them for future opportunities in high-tech fields.
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Discover
Learners new to high-tech fields see pathways as possible and accessible, with a focus on increasing engagement among learners who do not yet see themselves in tech. They explore tech pathways by interacting with professionals in high-tech jobs, engaging in micro-learning experiences that build technical and durable skills and participating in tech-focused design challenges that strengthen collaboration and communication skills.
Experience
Spark Scholars engage in deeper learning through direct work on high-tech issues with peers and experts in the field while addressing real world challenges. They choose from a menu of learning experiences, or design their own, and develop a professional portfolio of completed projects, all while stacking units toward high-school computer science credit.
Career Navigation
Spark Scholars, leveraging their knowledge and experiences in SparkNC, consider their opportunities and make informed college and career decisions, leverage their networks with high-tech employers and prepare for tech or tech-infused careers of their choice.
Design Principles
SparkNC will accelerate learners’ progress along this continuum and prepare them for future opportunities in high-tech fields.
Learner Agency
Learners will experience a choice of pathways and maintain a strong voice in the program design.
Access
Each and every SparkNC learner will have access to high-tech pathways to available in traditional school models.
Relevance
Leaners will grapple with complex, industry-relevant, real-world challenges, through problem-based learning.
Connection
Learners will receive guidance and support from knowledgeable, caring adults, and comprehensive, up-to-date tools to navigate pathways.
Transformation
Learners will inform state and district leaders on how to redesign systems and create policies that respond to industry needs, support interdistrict collaboration, and enable competency-based learning.
SparkNC's History
NC Education Innovation Ecosystem
SparkNC is a North Carolina nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, launched with the generous support of the North Carolina General Assembly and in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
The strategic vision of SparkNC, and our emphasis on development of students’ durable skills and engagement with real-world challenges, aligns closely with the goals of other statewide initiatives, including Operation Polaris 2.0, unveiled by State Superintendent Catherine Truitt in January 2023; the State Board of Education’s 2025 Statewide Strategic Plan; and myFutureNC’s educational attainment goal of two million degrees or industry-valued credentials by 2030 among North Carolinians ages 25-44.
SparkNC began as an initiative incubated within The Innovation Project, a nonprofit collaborative working group of North Carolina public school district leaders, before transitioning to a separate, standalone nonprofit during the 2023-24 academic year.
SparkNC is a proof of concept for a new way to do school – one that is learner-centered, industry-relevant, and competency-based. In its first year of implementation (2023-24), SparkNC partnered with 17 North Carolina school districts. Looking ahead, SparkNC plans to expand to work with public schools across North Carolina and to extend our approach to other fields.