The Repository: SPARK keeps helping children get ready for school

Thursday, September 23, 2021

Tags: Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton , Early Childhood Resource Center , Foundations , Outreach

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When the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton started operating the SPARK (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids) kindergarten readiness program in 2003, it was serving 140 children living in one urban and one rural community in Stark County.

Today, the children that were part of that first SPARK program are no longer children at all—in fact, they’re turning 21 and 22 this year. To date, more than 16,000 children from 22 school districts within nine Ohio counties have been impacted by the program. The SPARK program is now managed by the Early Childhood Resource Center.

The Repository recently wrote about SPARK reaching 18. The text of the article is below or available here.

Heart of Stark: SPARK keeps helping children get ready for school

The Repository

When the Sisters of Charity Foundation started operating the SPARK (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids) kindergarten readiness program in 2003, it was serving 140 children living in one urban and one rural community in Stark County.

Today, the children that were part of that first SPARK program are no longer children at all—in fact, they’re turning 21 and 22 this year.

To date, more than 16,000 children from 22 school districts within nine Ohio counties have been impacted by the program.

SPARK lessons, books and supplies have helped thousands of parents become their children’s first and best teachers, and its programs have helped low-income families narrow the achievement gap that often prevents school readiness. Emerging from Stark County’s uniquely collaborative culture, SPARK’s responsive services address specialized learning needs and social-emotional concerns to uniquely prepare children for academic success.

As a program supported by countless community partners, more than $39 million has been invested in SPARK, including $4.1 million from the Sisters of Charity Foundation.

In 2013, operations and management were transferred to the Early Childhood Resource Center, which has helped grow the program. As SPARK continues to carry out its readiness mission, it now has an additional layer of support: a brand-new appropriation in Ohio’s state budget that provides $2.2 million over the next two years to support program operations at all SPARK sites.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton and the Early Childhood Resource Center are ministries of the Sisters of Charity Health System.