Cabarrus County Schools, Over 8,900 students in Cabarrus County are currently enrolled in one of the 31 program choice options offered across our district.
Yesterday, I had an inspiring visit to SparkNC’s Cabarrus County Schools location in Concord, NC. where I was hosted by the energetic Nina Darnell.
The moment that stayed with me most was witnessing two young women practicing a pitch they’ll deliver this Wednesday. They presented their AI powered app designed to more efficiently connect people across North Carolina to critical resources related to healthcare, food, and housing.
They were professional. They were confident. And they landed their pitch on the button at exactly 5:00, their allotted time for the comptetiton.
They’re already in the top ten of the competition, and Wednesday is their opportunity to climb the ranks. What struck me wasn’t just the polish of the pitch, but the clarity of agency these young women carried. You could feel it. Whatever paths they take next, I am confident they will own.
All of this is happening within a virtual academy that the kids choose to participate in. I imagine SparkNC’s physical sites feel distinct depending on where you are. There’s a strong sense that learners are stepping into environments designed for choice, experimentation, and ownership.
I was also taken by SparkNC’s course catalog. Their offerings are extensive and organized into eight learning pathways, built from modular, stackable units. These pathways fall into three broader categories of learning experience:
- Digital Skills
- Zone Builders
- Playground / Community Network
At the moment, there are roughly 42 different offerings in the catalog, all intentionally designed to ignite futures in tech and expose young people to opportunities that simply don’t exist within most traditional school experiences.
The visit also prompted some big-picture thinking. Carrabus District serves roughly 35,000 students within a state of 1.5 million learners, giving them access to significant collective resources and scale. In Rhode Island, by contrast, we serve about 136,000 students across 35 school districts—a much more fragmented ecosystem with far less collective leverage.
And yet, watching those two young women, it was clear: agency matters more than geography.
My final reflection is this: reviewing SparkNC’s catalog made me think deeply about our own ideas for an ecosystem of learning in Newport County, what we half-jokingly call the University of Newport. If we want people to think bigger, beyond parochial district lines and institutional self-interest, we may need a catalog of our own.
Not just a list of programs, but a shared invitation:
a way to see combined resources, collective impact, and the full range of learning experiences that become possible when we design together.
That feels like an important next step.