Stories from the Field
Still Building
Gregory Shechter noticed something most people walk past. In classrooms at nine different LAUSD middle schools, some students could not sit still, and it was
Everyone Deserves Access: Meet Our Newest SparQ
Sofía Fonseca-Pérez has known she wanted to go into medicine since middle school. “I want to give back to people,” she says. “Everyone deserves access
Where the Boxes Go
LumenSparQ does not keep what comes through its doors for long. A school refreshes its 1:1 program, and the Chromebooks it no longer needs restart
The LumenSparQ Empowerment Scholarship
Her volleyball teammates named her the glue. That is how the indoor team at Da Vinci Communications High School described Mahalet Yonas, their captain. Not
I Stayed on the Train
There is a difference between reading about someone’s work and standing in the room where it lives. Last fall, we wrote about Alouette Cervantes-Salazar, the
From Soil to Table: How Four 8th Graders Grew a Garden and a Community
Every so often, a project comes along that is quietly profound. It doesn’t try to solve the world’s biggest problems in one sweep. Instead, it
A Quiet Hum in Redondo Beach
There’s something remarkable about walking into a room where everyone is focused, engaged, and at ease, all at once. That’s exactly what greeted us at
Elizabeth Sanchez and the Power of Community Voice
Elizabeth Sanchez grew up in Los Angeles, the daughter of immigrants and the granddaughter of a Bracero Program participant whose stories of migration and perseverance
Micah’s Move: Building Community Through Chess
We’re excited to welcome Micah as our newest SparQ. At just 13 years old, Micah founded the Check Mates Project, using the game of chess