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

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

1. Yang, Catherine. “Spark Wants to End School Indoctrination and Common Core.” The Epoch Times, November 20, 2019. https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/spark-wants-to-end-school-indoctrination-and-common-core-3107310. 
2. “Here Is a Look into Our Plans for 2023.” Facebook. Accessed September 29, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/joinsparknow/videos/614023323822029/. 
3. “‘Held Hostage’: How Critical Race Theory Moved from Fox News to School Boards.” NBCNews.com, June 16, 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/critical-race-theory-invades-school-boards-help-conservative-groups-n1270794. 
4. Spark! Camdenton students get assignments kicked out of class for political bias | lake of the Ozarks Community News | Lakeexpo.com. Accessed September 29, 2025. https://www.lakeexpo.com/community/community_news/spark-camdenton-students-get-assignments-kicked-out-of-class-for/article_adb06810-57c4-11e8-8cf5-6bf815518cf8.html. 
5. Person, Jr. launched George Magazine When John F. Kennedy, and Broadcaster – Progressive Voices Writer. “David Bender.” HuffPost. Accessed September 29, 2025. https://www.huffpost.com/author/david-bender. 
6. “Combatting Political Indoctrination in Public Schools-Brody Petska [Eagle Council Special].” EpochTV. Accessed September 29, 2025. https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/combatting-political-indoctrination-in-public-schools-brody-petska-eagle-council-special-3105286. 
7. “SPARK.” X (formerly Twitter). Accessed September 29, 2025. https://x.com/spark_students/status/1173973190554595329. 
8. Nathan Bechtold – photos provided by SPARK, and photo courtesy Phyllis Schlafly Eagles – phyllisschlafly.com. “Spark! Local Students Ignite National Conversation about Indoctrination in Public Schools.” LakeExpo.com, August 2, 2019. https://www.lakeexpo.com/news/politics/spark-local-students-ignite-national-conversation-about-indoctrination-in-public/article_39ef291c-ae4d-11e9-9347-e7acd7d7e64f.html. 
9. “Carole Petrie Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 11 Part XIV. 
10. “Christian Community Foundation,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2023. Schedule I. 
11. “Marcus Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 11 Part XIV. 
12. “Underground Family Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 11 Part XIV. 
13. “Snider Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 11 Part XIV. 
14. “McCarthy Family Charitable Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2023. Page 11 Part XIV.