INPEACE’s SPARK Initiative is one of eight in the nation. SPARK is an initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and is designed to unite communities so that all children can be successful before and after they enter school. SPARK fosters partnerships of selected communities, schools, state agencies and families to ensure that they work together effectively for the early learning of children. With the initiative serving as a catalyst or “spark,” the goal is to ensure that vulnerable children are ready for school and that schools are ready for children.
Other than Hawai‘i, SPARK is in the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina and Ohio.
SPARK is based on four key principles:- Strong partnerships among families, providers, community organizations and ready schools ensure that all children can learn and succeed in school.
- Quality is a critical element of a child’s early learning, from birth through the early years of school.
- Parents and families at home and working with early-care providers are critical to ensuring that children succeed in school.
- School leaders and teachers, working with the community’s support, can create smooth transitions from early-learning settings so that children can succeed in school.
SPARK Hawai‘i focuses on two target communities: the Wai‘anae Coast and Hilo. In both communities, three year old children were recruited starting in 2003. These children and their families participated in developmental assessments, workshops on parenting and other activities related to school readiness. These families will continue to have contact with INPEACE until Grade 2 through additional workshops, interviews and assessment of progress.
SPARK Hawai‘i is partnering with several schools to assist with their efforts to be Ready Schools. Other schools in these two target areas of Hilo and the Wai‘anae Coast are welcome. SPARK is also working to assist preschools in obtaining accreditation.
Among the state adopted activities that SPARK Hawai‘i assisted with are the development of the Hawai‘i Preschool Content Standards, the Family and Community Guidelines, and implementation of the Hawai‘i State School Readiness Assessment.
