Ribbon-cutting celebration marks opening of SparkNC Lab

Warren County Schools and SparkNC representatives celebrated the official opening of the SparkNC Lab at Warren County High School with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 6.

Warren County is among an initial group of North Carolina school districts that are participating in the SparkNC program. These initial school districts are part of The Innovation Project, a nonprofit collaborative working group of North Carolina public school district leaders created to envision the future of education and design equitable, learner-centered strategies to get there.

Warren County Schools Superintendent Keith Sutton indicated that the vision for what ultimately became the SparkNC Lab at Warren County High School began with a vision for more technology at WCHS.

“There was a vision that developed a little over a year and a half ago for an increased presence of technology at Warren County High School,” he said.

Sutton indicated that the school was a one-to-one school, meaning every student had access to a computer, but technology was not fully imbedded. The vision for the future involved utilizing two empty rooms at WCHS and filling them with various technology to introduce students to careers that included cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

As a member of The Innovation Project partnership, Warren County Schools had the opportunity to send a number of students to a cybersecurity camp at Shaw University last year.

Sutton indicated that participation in TIP ultimately provided Warren County Schools with an opportunity to participate in the SparkNC program.

SparkNC is funded by a 2021 appropriation from the North Carolina General Assembly as part of the state’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief State Plan. SparkNC is designed to benefit students disproportionately harmed by learning loss and disengagement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Information about the program indicates that TIP will incubate SparkNC for several years before the initiative expands to more of North Carolina’s public schools.

Sutton said that the local SparkNC Lab represents preparation for the future.

“This is where the future is going,” he said. “(The lab) will help students prepare for the careers of the future.”

Sutton noted that the SparkNC Lab will also inspire Warren County students to see themselves as more than users of technology.

“Students see themselves as consumers of technology,” he said. “We are trying to get them to see themselves as inventors and creators of technology.”

Dr. Patricia Hilliard, former instructional coach at WCHS and now senior director of SparkNC, indicated that a desire to bring greater equity of participation in high technology careers influenced her decision to join SparkNC and continues to the organization’s mission.

“We want to make sure all students have access. We are looking at doing school differently,” she said.

The vision of “doing school differently” is demonstrated in the SparkNC Lab, which allows students to explore a range of technology-based skills and careers at their own pace.

“We want to show that tech careers are for all students,” Hilliard said.

Each SparkNC Lab, including the one at WCHS, features a bank of high-powered computers that can run programs that allow students to explore fields such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, gaming, software development, data analysis and more, along with spaces where students can work together.

The Innovation Project also funds a position for a leader at each lab who serves as a facilitator for student learning. In addition to working with students in the lab, the facilitator might also bring in industry experts to bring a real world perspective about what students are learning. According to TIP, the SparkNC Labs are equipped with Lenovo ThinkSmarts, which allow people teaching in one lab to be broadcast to students across the state so they can learn via livestream.

“The location of the lab at Warren County High School was intentional,” Sutton said. “It is our flagship school.”

He said that students can be introduced to the SparkNC Lab as freshmen and continue learning opportunities there through their senior year, when they prepare to enter the next phase of their lives and, ultimately, their careers.

Students participate in the SparkNC program by enrolling in a class and work toward completing a components, called modules, for high school credit. Students who are currently enrolled are Barry Watkins, Jr., Nadia Woodard, Demarius Kearney, Bianca Tapit, Diego DeSantiago-Camacho, Jayda Wattley, Alajah Williams, Jose Cervantes, Malik Davis, Nicole DeSantiago-Camacho, Vincent Oswald, Shiloh Morton, Delia Padilla, David Perry, Anthony Williams and Serenity Woodard.

Donald Evans, local SparkNC Lab facilitator, said that these students will continue to have access to lab resources for as long as they want.

“They can access it at home. They can access it for the rest of their lives. They can continue learning,” he said.

Sutton emphasized that the SparkNC Lab is not for fun and games, but, rather, an opportunity for students to explore technology careers in a structured course setting.

In the future, he hopes that local SparkNC students will be able to have more virtual learning opportunities to connect them with experts in technology fields and to connect them with other students across North Carolina.

“We want students to engage with industry professionals and each other,” Sutton said.

He said that the SparkNC Lab fits is part of the learning culture that the school system is working to build.

“The culture at Warren County Schools is relationship based, student centered and future focused,” Sutton said.