SPARK

Please use the links below to find the specific information you need. If you are considering applying for SPARK, we recommend that you read all the information on this page.

SPARK at a Glance

SPARK is TDA’s counterpart Upper Academy, a homeschool program custom-tailored for middle-school-aged kids (roughly grades 6, 7, & 8, or approximately ages 12.5 – 15).

SPARK is an arts-integrated, child-centered approach to middle-grade education. We meet one day/week, weekly, over the full academic year. SPARK employs teamwork among a small group of peers with the flexibility to focus on individual areas of interest. Inquiry, projects, directed lessons, self-directed work, games, and group lessons are some of the ways SPARK kids learn. Class sizes are small, allowing participants to forge lasting peer relationships while benefiting from plenty of individualized educator attention.

NEW in 2025 & 2026: SPARK is now available in QUARTERLY format again, so you can sign up for just a quarter OR for the full academic year! Each quarter has its own theme and arc!

Class is held on select Tuesdays with approximately 9 to 12 class days per quarter.

Directed lessons and group projects:

Feature working professionals in the arts, and frequent guest artists and/or workshops.
Regular field trips including public bus/transit trip planning (we make the trip to-&-from field trips into another practical life skill / educational experience - which is also tremendous fun!).
Group projects, building teamwork, & civic/community involvement (activism, letter writing, community projects).
Get the most out of SPARK: students enroll Sept – June; with themed study areas and a final group project!

Program Overview

SPARK offers a different experience from TDA’s Elementary Enrichment; tuned appropriately to the kids’ older ages, SPARK Upper Academy includes harder challenges, more indepenence & civic engagement, directed lessons, specific assignments, intermediate music and arts lessons, …all within Three Dragons’ hybrid education method (which is arts-integrated, child-development-minded, evidence-based education). SPARK students may go beyond the K-5-leveled intros to art, music, and theatre, and instead explore units on topics like architecture, photography, and game design/mechanics. They’ve had geometry/tessellation workshops taught by guest college math professors, taken group voice lessons from a profesiional Opera singer/Music Director, and built their own scale theatre models (and then visited the actual theatres for a special backstage tour). This program often features full group projects and regular writing or sketching lessons.

Each year follows a theme arc, blending academics and multiple fine arts, along with aspects that develop communication, compassion, civics/community, or creativity: all to help our students better prepare for their future innovations, studies, and life.

SPARK gives students:

A consistent, social cohort of fellow homeschooling tweens & teens
Lively & challenging group projects to inspire ingenuity at a critical age and gain growth through collaboration
Inquiry-led investigations and imagination fueled learning to empower creativity
Imaginative themes and fun, entertaining projects
A warm, supportive classroom culture: compassion is cultivated by developing emotional intelligence, valuing kindness, and rewarding actions and thoughts which address problems, whether in the scale of our classroom or our world

SPARK acknowledges specific tween/teen learning tendencies by:

Allowing these intermediate learners deeper focus on favorite areas of study
Employing holistic practices, cultivate divergent thinking, welcome empathetic approaches, and always seek to spark the free interchange of ideas
Utilizing more teamwork/small group work with classmates
Creating/performing art with a message designed to inspire connection among people and ideas
Focusing on culturally-aware projects that develop community respect as well as self-confidence
Addressing EQ and the typical roller coaster of tween/teen emotional needs
Keeping class size small and ratios high, so participants may forge lasting peer relationships, as well as benefit from individualized instructor attention

Read more about our teaching philosophy.

SPARK 2025-2026 Sessions

SPARK offers once-a-week Tuesday classes through the academic year, with SPARK themes & projects.

Ages: based on application; however, approximately 12 .5 through approximately age 14 or 15 (roughly 6th-8th grade).

Schedule: 6 hours a day, Tuesdays/1 day a week, plus breaks

Class size & Ratio: limited to 15 students or less & always an 8:1 ratio or better.

Tuition: As of September, new applicants have the tuition rate of the upcoming year; (noted below / in the next section). Continuing students get the early registration renewal rate (renewals start in January).

Features: experienced artist-Educators; hands-on group projects; hybrid child-centered teaching philosophy, inquiry-driven learning, and (when available) guest artists & full-day field trips!
Subjects: Intermediate & higher level Fine Arts, including illustration, design, musicianship, film theory, theatre production - & occasional workshops on culinary arts, martial arts, architecture, world music, overviews of biology, NW history, & civics!

SPARK students often end their year with a large, impactful group project that helps the SPARKlers ‘leave their mark’! [ Examples: Painted a public Art Installation Mural; Built a radio station and all its programming including original songs; Put on a poetry jam & musical theatre showcase; Scripted & filmed a film short; Created a podcast! ] We are currently finalizing details for our upcoming session, so please inquire by email for more details!

SPARK 2025 – 2026 Tuition/Financial info

NEW: QUARTERLY Enrollment available for new sign-ups: Registration/Supplies/fees waived, and tuition is just:

:: 1800 for Quarter 1/Fall: Or use the ‘Set & Forget’ monthly payment (post-dated, pre-written checks handed in on the first day of class) for 450/month for 4 months.

:: 1350 for Quarter 2/Winter: Or 450/month for 3 months (Jan,Feb,March)

:: 1350 for Quarter 3/Spring: Or 450/month for 3 months (Apr, Mar, June).

No matter which quarters you sign up for, a deposit of 450 is due at the time of signup / to secure your space in the SPARK Upper Academy quarters.

Or, instead of ala carte, you can commit for the year: Register for the full year: 4500 tuition + one 700 registration/all-inclusive supplies fee (registration due at time of enrollment); with the option of the Set-&-Forget monthly payment plan: 450/month for Sept-April (plus reg/deposit).

Once SPARK has officially accepted a student into the program, please complete the registration checklist, which is emailed to parents. Deposit = 1600 accounts for two-months-deposit and the 700 registration/supplies fee; deposit is generally non-refundable, and it holds and secures your enrollment space for the upcoming year.

Financial Aid:
We do offer some limited, needs-based scholarships or partial tuition reductions/grants. Alternatively, we also can offer financial aid in the form of flexible payment schedules (ex: splitting the initial deposit into two or three payments). Three Dragons designed our programs with simple compassion: If a family of a good applicant/student is in need, we have never yet not been able to offer some help - our scholarship fund always has some help available, and it always will.

Payment flexibility is open to all. We're happy to discuss SPARK scholarship/grant options for any family in need.

Admissions

Our admissions process is as follows:

Fill out a SPARK application.
Meet with us to ensure a good fit.
If your application is accepted, complete the registration materials and pay your registration fee and tuition deposit. We also ask new, accepted applicants to send a photo (single portrait or family group photo is fine, so long as our new student is readily visible) for our emergency/safety notebook - thanks!

Because our curriculum is based in large part on teamwork, we build our class cohorts carefully so each child can flourish. Our application process allows us and you to make sure that SPARK is the right fit for your family.

Ages: Please note: these age ranges are approximate: age alone doesn’t guarantee acceptance to the program. SPARK acceptance is far more about the post-primary learning-style than age. Please contact us if you have questions. That said, we recommend that new applicants generally be 12 – 14 years old, self-sufficient in the scope of the program’s activities, and each students needs at least a 4th grade level of reading and writing skills.

Enrollment space in our program is limited because we are committed to maintaining a small class size and a superb educator to child ratio (1:8). While we cannot guarantee you a space for the upcoming academic year, we do often accept rolling applications. Please indicate if you would like your child added to our waitpool in the event that a space becomes available.

Please apply by August 16 for priority consideration for Fall enrollment in SPARK.

Application Process

Apply. Once we have reviewed your application, we will contact you about next steps.
Meet with us / Tour! If your application is reviewed and there is space available, we may invite you and your child to meet with us for a SPARK Visit/Interview so we can confirm if SPARK is a good fit.
Register. If we all agree that SPARK is a good fit and you’re accepted to the program, we’ll send you a link to register: then, complete the two pieces of paperwork, make your deposit, and send or email a photo for SPARK’s files.

Frequently Asked Questions

+ What do I need to know about homeschooling/unschooling?

Our part time schedule is ideal for homeschoolers and unschoolers, as well as online academy students (Columbia Virtual Academy, Khan Academy, and WAVA online public school, etc.). Mainstream public and private school students often also take advantage of part time student status to participate in enrichment programs like Three Dragons Academy - others take their SPARK day as a 'pull out day'/excused absence from school. Many parents find the Home Based Instruction (HBI) handbook (the “Pinkbook”) helpful. The “Pinkbook” covers all Washington State laws related to education choice. Please be aware that parents of children age 8 and up might need to file the Washington State Declaration of Intent in order to comply with HBI laws. Read more about the Declaration of Intent here.

+ How many openings does SPARK have each year?

Openings vary, so it’s difficult for us to anticipate enrollment. SPARK accepts applications throughout the year, and accepts mid-year enrollment during certain months. If enrollment is full, SPARK can add you t othe waitpool - Please check back with us regularly and join our SPARK mailing list to be notified about enrollment changes.

+ When should I apply?

We accept applications year round. Please apply by June 1 for priority consideration for starting at the top of the upcoming academic year, and no later than August 1.

+ What is the class size?

We prefer a group that tops out around 12 to 16 students (minus any restrictions which are out of our control, such as mandates by PublicHealth).
We are committed to small classes and superb educator to participant ratios (1:8). Each session keeps these small class sizes so that individualized instruction is always the default, never optional.

+ What is your attendance policy

For vacations or sick days, we simply ask that you give us as much advance notice as possible (ideally 2 weeks or more). With advance notice we can adapt the individualized lesson plan around occasional schedule disruptions.

+ What is your sibling policy?

SPARK and TDA are more than lessons, they are communities, so we often have siblings sharing cohorts, and younger siblings often have a space slated, well in advance. While we strive to make sure there’s room for each participant’s younger siblings, we do assess sibling participation on a case by case basis. Once an enrollment space is given up, though, any priority for siblings is lost. If SPARK is full, applicants may join the waitpool.

+ Do you use technology in the classroom?

SPARK’s programming creates opportunities for more technology use than participants in the younger TDA program would normally experience, and will vary from quarter to quarter based largely on the requirements of each quarterly theme. (Three Dragons might also offer coding classes, gaming camps, or other tech-related options outside of our SPARK schedule.) Personal technology policy for SPARK students: we do not permit phones, tablet, web-based or other smart-device use during SPARK’s group lessons. Children may leave these tools in their backpacks or lobby during the 6 hours of the SPARK class day.

+ How do you handle allergies and food restrictions?

We are humble educators with fine arts degrees giving lessons in a shared cultural center building & taking recess in public greenways and parks / as well as onsite at locations throughout the city. So, while we can respect food restrictions (if we were to offer a treat, for example) it is simply impossible for us to provide a true allergen-free environment.

+ Can you administer medications?

SPARK and Three Dragons cannot administer or monitor any medications.

+ Can parents be involved at SPARK?

Generally, no; not in the classroom. Aside from our small teaching staff, no adults (including family) are permitted in SPARK spaces unless there’s a special reason approved by the participants in advance. We invite family or friends into the classroom only for special events like a Winter Showcase performance or a Family Game Night. New participant family tours and special guest artists are the rare exceptions, but even those are reviewed by the participants beforehand. We do not permit audio or video recording of the kids in their space except by staff or their own family (during a show, for example). That said, parents often collaborate on field trips outside class hours and invite SPARKlers for birthday parties or other parent-run outings, and the Dragon Aerie Parent group (online, on facebook) includes great opportunities to connect.