Sparks Stance on AI

With the rise of AI, we want to be transparent and clear on our stance concerning it's use in our platform, with our students, and our schools:

Spark has been and will be using AI for both developing Spark and giving our users more features, but the overarching principle we adhere to is that humans will ALWAYS be in the loop - auditing, confirming, adjusting, evaluating, providing the wisdom and relationships only humans can provide.

Sparks Past and Future With AI

AI has already helped Spark a lot:

The first place AI has transformed Spark is behind the scenes.

Our experienced engineering team is able to move dramatically faster than ever before. Features that once took weeks can often be prototyped in days. Small improvements that previously had to wait in a backlog can now be addressed quickly. User feedback can be acted on sooner, allowing Spark to adapt alongside the needs of the schools we serve.

That doesn't mean AI is writing our product for us. We have an experienced technical team guiding every architectural decision, reviewing every implementation, and ensuring that Spark remains stable, maintainable, secure, and thoughtfully designed. AI is an incredible accelerator, but it still needs experienced engineers and product designers steering the ship.

AI's short-term effect on Spark:

We're actively exploring how AI can make everyday work easier for schools. Rather than adding AI for the sake of having AI, we're focused on solving real administrative problems.

Some of our first initiatives include:

• AI-assisted data imports that help schools migrate into Spark more easily.
• ESA and voucher remittance scanning that can extract and organize information from funding documents.
• An intelligent assistant that can answer questions about your school's data, help staff navigate Spark, perform simple actions, and surface insights that would otherwise take time to discover.

These are practical applications that reduce busywork and allow educators and administrators to spend more time on what matters most.

Our goal isn't to replace expertise - It's to remove friction.

AI's long-term effect on Spark:

AI has enormous potential to help teachers create lesson plans, improve worksheets, generate classroom activities, differentiate instruction, and refine educational resources. We want Spark to become a place where educators can build, organize, and improve their curriculum with AI as a creative assistant.

But we believe something very strongly:

• AI should assist educators—not replace them:
  Every lesson should ultimately reflect the judgment of the teacher who knows their students.
• Every resource should be reviewed by a human who understands the classroom.
• Every important educational decision should remain in the hands of people, not algorithms.

The same principle applies even more strongly when students are involved. Today, many companies are racing to put AI chatbots directly in front of students. While there are exciting possibilities, we believe this area deserves extraordinary care.

Before AI begins guiding a student's learning journey, teachers and school staff must have meaningful oversight. They should understand what the AI is doing, review what it recommends, and remain responsible for the educational experience.

Technology should strengthen the relationship between educators and students—not quietly replace it.

• Education Is a Human Endeavor
• Education has always been about relationships.

As long as we have the privilege of building Spark, that's the future we'll continue working toward.

Conclusion

We at Spark are dedicated to giving you the best tools and insights to run your school, and we promise that AI will be controlled by you to great effect, and that we focus on real people and real relationships.