09/24/2026
Barberton Community Foundation’s September Board of Directors meeting opened with a mission moment from the Early Childhood Resource Center highlighting SPARK Ohio, Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids, and its work with children and families in Barberton.
SPARK is an in-home kindergarten-readiness program that works with children ages 3 to 5 and their parents. Barberton Community Foundation awarded a $25,000 grant to support SPARK participation for 13 Barberton families during the 2025-26 school year. SPARK is one of several initiatives the Foundation supports through its Early Learning, Birth-to-5 strategic priority.
Kelley Moffett, SPARK supervisor, and Samantha Taylor, the SPARK Parent Partner serving Barberton families, were joined by Anabelle Vasai, a Barberton parent whose son participates in SPARK. Vasai brought the parent perspective to the presentation, sharing how the program gives her practical guidance to support her son’s learning at home and adds another caring person to the team invested in his progress.
Through individualized home visits, books, learning activities, and other resources, Parent Partners work directly with families to help children build the skills they need for kindergarten. That preparation goes beyond early reading and math to include skills such as listening to a story, following directions, taking turns, and managing emotions so children are ready to learn in a classroom.
The program’s emphasis on measurable outcomes is part of its appeal to the Foundation. Independent evaluation has found that children who participate in SPARK significantly outperform non-participating peers on Ohio’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. SPARK materials also cite research showing that children who enter kindergarten ready have an 82% chance of mastering basic skills by age 11, compared with 45% for children who do not enter kindergarten ready.
Josh Gordon, Barberton Community Foundation’s executive director, said SPARK’s measurable outcomes demonstrate the kind of impact the Foundation wants to support.
“What excites us about SPARK is that we can see the impact,” Gordon said. “The data show children gaining the emotional poise, reading, math, and other readiness skills they need before kindergarten. We’re looking to find and fund programs that can demonstrate these kinds of results. When strong programs, families, providers, and community partners work together, we can move the needle on kindergarten readiness in Barberton.”
For Vasai, SPARK means building a team of people invested in her son’s progress.
“I’m just putting together a team of people that I feel care about my son and his progression,” she told the board.
Her experience reflects the larger goal of the Foundation’s early learning work to help more Barberton children enter kindergarten demonstrating readiness while strengthening the network of families, providers, and community partners surrounding them.
