The 2020's Most Influential Women to Watch

“
As you let your
own light shine,
you unconsciously
give others
permission to
do the same
“
essential to work with strong and committed team members
as well as have a strong support system at home,” Stacey
opines.
To face these challenges head-on, her source of motivation
has always been solving big problems and do things that no
one else wants to do. “I have a great sense of responsibility
in creating a better South Africa and I am currently aimed
at doing this in the education sector in South Africa,” adds
Stacey.
The country spends most of its budget and GDP on
education and yet it is not ranked up to the mark across
different competitiveness reports. Still, education in South
Africa is in a dire situation. In the most recent Progress in
International Reading Literacy Study ( PIRLS) assessment,
it stated that 78% of the Grade 4 students cannot read for
meaning which is very disheartening. “At SPARK, we have
an opportunity to change this and ensure that we can
provide access to a high-quality education that is affordable
to the country,” describes Stacey.
Ode to a Sparkling Future
SPARK schools offer to learn from Grade R to Grade 7 and
recently opened its first high school, and welcomed its first
Grade8 class, in January 2019. Its innovative blended
learning model, globally competitive curriculum, and focus
on core values along with social-emotional learning traits
enable the network to lead the South African education
sector. “SPARK scholars are persistent, responsible
achievers who seek to better their country through service,”
shares Stacey.
The school was invited to the Skoll World Forum 2013 to
present alongside Salman Khan (Khan Academy), Sandy
Speicher (IDEO) and Debra Dunn (Stanford University) on
the panel, Blended Learning: The Proof and the Promise.
Other awards and accolades received by SPARK Schools
are:
1. 2016 All Africa Business Leader Award (AABLA) -
Innovator of the Year
2. 2017 EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women
3. 2019 Glamour Women of the Year (Business Category)
The vision of SPARK Schools is for South Africa to lead
Global Education. Its aim is to transform the education
sector in South Africa which will provide all children with
an opportunity to access high-quality education. The school
strives to help South Africa become a leading global player
in delivering innovative learning models that facilitates
great student achievement and is more cost-effective than a
traditional model. “Our next big goal is to open another 28
schools over 5 years starting from 2021. We aim to operate
49 schools by 2024 and will be educating over 30000
children,” concludes Stacey.
46 | MAY 2020
www.insightssuccess.com