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Spark Night
The walls spoke louder than any test score ever could.
Jordan stood just outside the main entrance, fingers crossed in her jacket pocket, watching the parking lot fill up.
“The parking lot’s never full on a Thursday,” Andre said, slipping beside her with a grin. “What’d you do? Hire a DJ?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she took in the scene — parents holding hands with their kids, toddlers trailing behind, grandparents easing out of minivans. Something about it felt … different.
Hopeful.
Inside, the school didn’t look like itself.
Every hallway was alive with student-led exhibits — math projects reimagined as community planning proposals, a wall of sticky notes titled “Our Boldest Ideas,” and even a pop-up podcast booth where two sixth graders interviewed parents about their middle school memories.
At the center of it all hung two sheets of butcher paper, side by side on the gym wall:
“Something I want to learn.”
“Something I can teach.”
Markers clinked as parents leaned in, scribbling everything from “How to file taxes” to “How to make tamales.” Jordan watched them smile as they wrote, then step back and read what others had added. Conversations sparked instantly.
“I didn’t know Ms. Kim speaks Korean!”
“You do car repair? I’d pay for that class!”
“Wait, who wants to learn chess? Let’s do it next week!”
Maria, standing near the display, lit up when someone asked her what it was all about.
“This is Spark Night,” she said confidently. “It’s like Spark Time, but for the community. We’re all teachers and learners. That’s the whole point.”
Jordan caught Holloway watching her from across the gym, arms crossed but eyes warm.
“This was your idea?” she asked, walking over.
Jordan shrugged. “It started with a staff conversation. Grew from there.”
“Well,” Holloway said, scanning the room, “whatever this is... it’s working.”
One teacher approached hesitantly. “Honestly, I didn’t know if it would land. A student-led open house? I thought parents would just want to see grades or hear from us.”
Jordan nodded. “Me too. But look around.”
Parents weren’t just attending. They were engaging. Talking with students. Asking questions. Dreaming up ideas.
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