Testimonials

Below is a short selection of what Teachers, Administrators, Program Directors, Wellness Coordinators and other educators have had to say about SPARK. If you’ve already experienced how SPARK can help you and your students and would like to submit your own testimonial, click here.

Lindsi Lemons
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Jeremy Bergum
Muskego, Wisconsin

Dennis Malek
Principal, Emory School, CA

Dr. Lynne Kenney
Scottsdale, AZ

“We are so thankful for SPARK! The SPARK development training with our staff was amazing! Our SPARK trainer Julie F was full of energy and engaging, and our staff left feeling excited to implement the strategies they learned. SPARK's innovative physical education curriculum and equipment will allow us to enhance the physical education activities that we provide during our Y afterschool programs and will provide our children with the tools they need to lead active, healthy lives.”
- Courtney Jackson
YMCA of the Capital Area, Baton Rogue, LA
“I’ve been using SPARK PE with my teachers for more than a decade. The lessons help get teachers on the same page within a district so that students are receiving the same competencies across schools. It offers common academic language and sound lesson structure and assessments aligned to national and state standards. It is a go-to resource when revising K-12 curriculum.”
- Judy LoBianco, Consultant
HPE SOLUTIONS LLC, President/CEODesigner
“SPARK’s New Enhanced K-2 and 3-6 Curriculum makes teaching physical education easy! The planning is already done with unit and lesson plans for an entire year. I especially like how the lessons are organized so it’s possible to see the learning objectives and lesson activities at a glance. This quality resource is standards aligned, incorporates CASEL’s Core Competencies and develops academic vocabulary! Other features teachers will appreciate include assessment tools, suggestions for differentiating instruction and strategies for modifying lessons for large classes. Well done SPARK!!!”
- Terri Drain, Coordinator
Health and Physical Education Collaborative (H-PEC)
“Wow SPARK, the enhanced K-2 program is amazing! I love how detailed the lesson plans are. Teachers will appreciate the learning objectives, learning targets and teaching cues with every lesson. My favorite is the reflection questions at the end of every lesson.”​
- Joe McCarthy, K-5 Physical Education Teacher
Meadowview Elementary School, Minnesota
“A big thank you shout out to our SPARK family for an outstanding SPARKecademy Live virtual training experience last month. When I found out that we would have to arrange an alternative plan for our perfectly organized professional learning day, I will admit that I was devastated. Anyone who has ever experienced a SPARK training knows how life-changing it is. How could we possibly meet the expectation after last year’s incredible experience? Well, our SPARK family listened and came up with the perfect plan. I can’t imagine the hours that were put into making our day SPARKtacular. Each grade band was able to engage and learn from the SPARK trainer Patty as well as Julie, the Executive Director. Nothing was left out, and in my wildest dreams, I still can’t believe how much content was squeezed into our time together. If you require an alternative training option, rest assured that you will not be disappointed. We have received positive feedback from our attendees. What more could we ask for?”
- Janel Garrett, Coordinated School Health Coordinator
Sumner County Schools, Tennessee
“SPARK training has transformed our PE classrooms across the district. This research-based curriculum provides all the lessons needed to facilitate well-rounded PE programs. Our classrooms now include health-related fitness, skill development, and social development for ALL students. SPARK has equipped our teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote physical education at the highest level for our schools.”
- Kelley Gappa, Elementary Instructional Resource Specialist
Moore Public Schools, Moore, Oklahoma
“The SPARK PE Curriculum has become an essential piece of Northside ISD’s elementary physical education programs. The research-based SPARK concepts and lessons have proven to be an invaluable resource in our quest to revamp our K-2 and 3-6 Scope and Sequence. In addition, access to SPARKfamily.org has empowered our teachers to become better educators.”
– Danielle Housley, Healthy Start Project Facilitator
Northside Independent School District, San Antonio, TX
“As an international educator I have used SPARK for almost 20 years at every school I have taught in from Saipan to Saudi Arabia, and from Guam to Pakistan. The curriculum is by far the best in the business. The staff love using it and the children love taking part in a SPARK class. We have also seen immense results in our school’s overall fitness levels!”
Scott Johnson, Director of Physical Education
Karachi American School, Karachi, Pakistan
“The SPARK training was the best professional development our PE department has had. Finally, professional development specifically for PE! The training benefited every teacher there. The teacher with 25 years of experience to the teacher with one year of experience all walked away with new ideas. In one day, we learned new games, assessments, units, classroom management strategies and other ideas that could be implemented into our class right away. The website and curriculum are great resources and very user friendly. The instructor was awesome and a current PE teacher. She kept the training engaging and fun. Other classroom teachers peeked in and even sat in on part of the training because it looked fun. I would highly recommend SPARK to any school or district looking for quality professional development for their PE teachers.”
- Joanne Maki, Physical Education Teacher
Ron Russell Middle School, David Douglas School District, Portland, OR
“I enjoyed one of the most rewarding workshops ever! This high school program completely turned my teaching strategies around. Since school began in September, I have used teaching strategies from the SPARK program. What a difference in the students! The ASAP warm ups are fantastic, and MVPA has increased! Kudos to the SPARK instructors, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.”
- Mary Russell, Physical Education Teacher
El Capitan High School, Lakeside, CA
“It was great to collaborate with other educators with our students’ best interests in mind. As a physical education teacher I found the inclusive guidebook to be very informative. I appreciated that it broke down each disability in a way that was helpful to PE teachers and what we are specifically trying to teach in our classes.”
-Kelly Jordan, Physical Education Teacher
Palm Valley Elementary, Goodyear, AZ
“The SPARKuniversity e-text is now a required resource for my undergraduate students who aspire to be teachers, coaches, and recreational leaders. Effective instructional strategies and thoughtful lesson progressions support the development of fundamental movement skills and the pursuit of physical literacy. Each lesson is presented in a simple and consistent format. Both elementary pre-service generalists and physical education specialists will find this resource invaluable.”
- Dwayne Sheehan, PhD (Kinesiology), Dept. of Physical Education and Recreation Studies
Mount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta
“We are delighted with the results we are seeing from implementing SPARKabc activities throughout our school day. During days (mornings) when we have our entire student body participating in total movement before entering the school building (facilitated by parents), I have noticed happier students and fewer students in the office due to behavioral issues. The implementation of SPARK is preparing our students for a productive school day and is helping provide an opportunity for our school and community to partner.”
– Walter Reap, Principal
Germantown Elementary School, Germantown, MD
“Recently, my middle school teachers participated in the SPARK training and found it incredibly rewarding. Right away, teachers are encouraged that they can make changes in the classroom that will make significant differences for kids. To move our profession forward, we need to reach one physical educator at a time, with every opportunity we can get. This training was significant in that regard. Thank you SPARK, for bringing solid activities and easy to use assessments to my teachers. SPARK is now both my elementary and middle school curriculum of choice.”
– Judy Lobianco, Supervisor of K-12 Health & PE
South Orange-Maplewood – Maplewood, NJ
“SPARK is such a wonderful program. It brings physical activity alive! The Title 1 Early Childhood staff and children enjoy their physical activity journey each and every day.”
-Yvonne Jones, Title 1 Early Childhood Program
Memphis City Schools Memphis, TN
“We first began using the SPARK After School Program at our YMCA of South Palm Beach County in 2002. Our after school staff loved the binder full of great ideas and easy to use activities — and the teambuilding and fun workshops SPARK conducted at our site. SPARK coordinates their lessons, teaching strategies, and equipment sets and their approach WORKS! I highly recommend SPARK for every after school physical activity program!”
-Bev Johnson Executive Director
DeVos-Blum Family YMCA Boynton Beach, FL
“SPARK is well known throughout the state of California and across the country as a stellar program that is not only research-based, but also has a great reputation for curriculum design, teacher training and follow-up support. SPARK stands out as a cost effective, easy-to-use program for PreK-12th grade that is presented in scope and sequence and aligned to the standards. We felt that it was important to have Spanish language content for teachers, parents, and students and appreciate that SPARK is a physical education curriculum with bilingual content. Because of the great relationship that SPARK has built with our district and their continued support for our program, we cannot speak highly enough of them.”
- Chad Fenwick, K-12 Physical Education Advisor
Los Angeles Unified School District – Los Angeles, CA