premise

Every child in New Jersey deserves a genuine chance to thrive. Any honest accounting of whether we are delivering on that has to include the children we have most consistently failed — youth of color, immigrant and undocumented youth, LGBTQ+ young people, first-generation students, those navigating poverty, disability, housing instability, and system involvement. Not because their experiences are separate from the whole. Because they are the measure of it.

Who

AJ Ernst

Kate Okeson

SPARK is a project initiated by AJ Ernst and Kate Okeson, two lifelong educators who center young people in their work.

AJ and Kate are joined by community, academic, and university partners to SPARK change for young New Jerseyans.