Spark Your Learning!

Spark ALC is an Agile Learning Center located in Bradenton, FL.

Who We Are

Spark ALC is a self-directed 501c3 non-profit private school in West Bradenton. We are an Agile Learning Center that provides an environment where learners take the lead in directing their own education using powerful tools for self-organization and intentional culture creation. Our students deeply engage with the world through their passions and strengths, and the learning environment embraces choice and freedom along with collaboration between peers, facilitators and the local community.

“Since we can’t know what knowledge will be the most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much, and learn so well, that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned.” —John Holt

Roots

Some things are central to what ALCs are about, while other elements are flexible and may vary between communities. We use a metaphor of a tree to illustrate this aspect of the ALC model more clearly.

The soil we grow from is trust: in children, in each other, in you.
The four assumptions—roots—which ground us are as follows:

Learning: Learning is natural. It’s happening all the time.
Self-Direction: People learn best by making their own decisions. Children are people.
Experience: People learn more from their culture and environment than from the content they are taught. The medium is the message.
Growth: Self-knowledge is catalyzed through cycles of intention, creation, reflection and sharing.

The Spark ALC Learning Environment

Mixed-age

We believe that younger children are motivated to learn new skills through observing and interacting with their older peers. Older children experience newfound forms of leadership and the ability to nurture. This creates a healthy collaborative environment in which to learn.

Supportive and respectful community

Children are treated with the same respect as adults. We utilize Non-Violent Communication and strive to authentically connect with our community using compassion.

Caring adults who are helpers not judges

Children and adults mingle freely in the environment and learners can go to any child or adult for help without the fear that they will feel pressured or inadequate.

Customized help with individualized academic goals

We are an Agile Learning Community that activates explosive learning by harnessing powerful tools for self-organization and goal creation. All children will have access to one-on-one academic help to meet individualized academic goals.

Personal responsibility

We trust children to be in charge of their own education. In conventional schools, children are stripped of this responsibility. We do not want to diminish a child’s natural initiative, curiosity, or capability to learn.

Opportunities to use the tools of our culture

Children learn to use the tools of our culture to become capable adults. Learners are encouraged to use real tools in their play and work. You will see children safely and responsibly exploring and experimenting with tools such as computers, books, cooking utensils, woodworking, crafting tools, and sports equipment.

Goal setting

Younger children are developing the ability to set intentions through play, collaborating with others, and learning through correcting mistakes. Older children increasingly begin to plan out their day in more structured ways by using tools for time management, self-selecting intentions, and creating a plan to acquire the skills needed to achieve their learning goals.

Endless opportunities for play

Children have endless time to play, explore, and discover. We believe that children learn through play! This freedom allows for deep friendships to form and time for children to pursue their interests.

A Recent Spark Adventure!

History

The ALC model was developed in New York City’s Agile Learning Center, formerly Manhattan Free School. By adapting leading-edge practices used in Agile Software Development and other Lean Management techniques, the ALC model is optimized for ongoing evolution to keep pace with a fast-changing world. In 2015, Dawn Leonard and a group of families started Nature Lab as a weekly homeschool enrichment program focused on science, nature study, exploration, and free play. In 2017, Dawn and co-founder Amy Korenman visited the Real Life Agile Learning Center in Tampa and saw how powerful these practices could be in this community. Throughout 2017, several of the Nature Lab families began to integrate some of the ALC tools and practices into their homeschooling. In July of 2018 Spark ALC incorporated and began to operate as an Agile Learning Center. In the spring of 2021, Spark ALC became a private hybrid-school offering a progressive educational choice to the community and support for homeschooling families.

Programs

Spark ALC operates as a private school in Manatee County that provides the community with options for elementary, middle, and high-school. We have enrolled learners between the ages of 5-18.

We provide a gathering place for our community that feels intentional, safe, and respectful. The rhythm and flow of the day carries learners through their time at Spark ALC choosing between organized offerings and self-directed activities.

Roots

Our Roots program serves grades K-2nd, yet one can find content 3rd and 4th graders that call this program home for a portion of their day. Our mixed-age model allows young people to choose the environment within the school that feels “right.” The Roots program is all about free, open-ended, and imaginative play. Children have plenty of time to follow their interests, practice the social skills needed to work and collaborate within a learning community, and experiment with different ways of learning.

Branches

Our Branches program serves 3rd-7th grade, with 3rd or 4th grade typically being the transitional year between the Roots and Branches programs. We also have learners in 8th grade that are still content in the Branches program. Learners in this program are developmentally ready to begin planning their day each morning with the help of a facilitator. Young people have the freedom and support to create and follow their own daily schedule in addition to creating and working toward self-selected learning goals. Learners will experiment with different methods of organization and time management to develop executive functioning skills that will carry over into all aspects of life. Each Branches’ learner uses the Agile Learning Cycle in combination with a portfolio to document their learning and progress.

Canopy

Our Canopy program serves mature learners in 7th – 12th grades, with 7th or 8th grade typically being the transitional year between the Branches and Canopy programs. Learners in this program form a plan and identify tools and resources they want to use for their own learning. Often the learning is collaborative. At times, specific curriculum is used and offerings are developed to help them achieve their goals, particularly with traditional subjects. Other times, their interests and passions cannot be confined to curriculum or a typical classroom environment, and they have the freedom to explore and experiment with different methods and experiences to facilitate their learning. For this group, we offer the options of narrative reporting or graded reports and either a traditional high school diploma and transcript or an alternative high school diploma.