SPARK (Students Protecting All Rights for Kids)
SPARK (Students Protecting All Rights for Kids) was founded by students as an advocacy group to oppose what it deemed as politically biased schoolwork and to call for curriculum changes in Missouri public schools. Some of the group’s earliest actions involved petitioning for assignments perceived to be politically biased to be removed from schools. 1
Contents
In 2023, the group partnered with No Left Turn in Education, a right-of-center education policy group with a particular focus on opposing the incorporation of critical race theory into school curricula. 2 3
Background
SPARK is a student advocacy group that was founded by two brothers, Brody and Mason Petska, along with Dylan O’Neill and Maxwell Spurgeon. The group was founded when most of these students were in eighth grade and continued when they attended Camdenton High School. The group was initially established to combat perceived bias in public education and alleged bullying by teachers. 1
Although Missouri had opted out of the Common Core curriculum for its schools, SPARK contested that Missouri students were receiving some assignments that explicated stated to be a “Common Core Standards-aligned project,” according to the Lake Expo. 4
Members of the group were reportedly being assigned work that was politically biased, such as one assignment called Are You a Liberal Or A Conservative? by David Bender, which upon review was removed from the curriculum for being politically slanted. David Bender was a political activist who worked as the chief strategy officer for Progressive Voices; he was previously a senior advisor for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign as well as a finance liaison to the entertainment industry for Democratic National Committee during former President Bill Clinton’s first term, according to the HuffPost. 4 5
In a subsequent interview with American Thought Leaders, Brody Petska stated this assignment was put back in the curriculum after being removed the first time, and SPARK had to petition a second time for the removal of this assignment, again successfully. 6
Among other purported goals of the project, one was to oppose the collection of “students’ personal data.” 7
The group claims that some of its teachers privately encouraged its efforts but could not “say it out loud,” according to the Lake Expo. 8
No Left Turn In Education
In 2023, SPARK announced that it would begin partnering with the charitable and advocacy nonprofit No Left Turn in Education. No Left Turn in Education is a right-of-center education policy focused group with a particular focus on combatting the incorporation of critical race theory in school curricula. 2 3
No Left Turn in Education has received funding from the Carole Petrie Foundation, the Christian Community Foundation, the Snider Foundation, the McCarthy Family Charitable Foundation, the Marcus Foundation, and the Underground Family Foundation. 9 10 11 12 13 14
Activities
In 2019, the founders of SPARK were introduced on the Missouri state House floor as “special guests” after speaking with a local state representative, according to the Lake Expo. The group also testified in favor of a bill “protecting student data” in the Missouri House. 8
The members of the group also spoke at the Education Policy Conference where they gave a speech entitled “Courage In The Face Of Indoctrination.” 8
In June of 2019, the group attended the Phyllis Schlafly Eagle Collegians D.C. Summit and delivered a speech. Members of the group reportedly met Paul Teller, at the time a special assistant for legislative affairs to President Donald Trump, who heard the group’s story. 8