Spark is currently recruiting Apprentice Teachers!

Sign up to be an Apprentice Teacher today! You will have the opportunity to open doors for a local middle-school student by sharing your career! Apprenticeships are at the core of Spark, giving students hands-on experience in a field of their interest. By being an Apprentice Teacher, you can take on a middle-school Apprentice who dreams of working in your profession. Teach your Apprentice about your field and work together to create a small "teach back" project to be presented at the Discovery Night, Spark's version of a graduation celebration.

Spark's goal is to empower students with the knowledge that they can pursue their interests, connect with community members, and discover why education will help them toward realizing their dreams. As an Apprentice Teacher, you can help to re-engage students in their education by giving them the opportunity to learn about their dream career, connect with a student who shares your passion, and help motivate and empower students to take hold of their future at a pivotal point in their lives.

Apprentice Teachers accept a Spark student into their workplace for 2-6 hours per week. Students come to you for their apprenticeship, getting real-world, hands-on experience in your field. Don't have an office? No problem. Spark can also arrange for a school-based apprenticeship.

The Spring 2010 session is from the week of March 8 through the week of May 10. During that time, apprenticeships take place on Mondays (in San Francisco) or Thursdays (in Redwood City) for up to 2 hours between 1:30pm and 6pm. You will also be asked to attend an Orientation the week of March 8 and a Discovery Night in May.

Spark students have apprenticed at exciting workplaces from veterinary clinics to pilot's cockpits, interior design firms to photography studios. Our students are interested in professions from across the board, so we'd love to hear from you! No prior experience is required, and we provide training to help volunteers develop a structured project for their Apprentice. If you're interested, please click "Volunteer Sign-Up" located under the “Volunteers” tab on the Spark website, or contact us at volunteer@sparkprogram.org.