By MJ Shoer

While I’ve only been the CEO of CompTIA Spark for a couple of months, I’ve been a fan of the organization for a very long time. I’m proud to be able to continue the work that Charles Eaton and many others have done over the last several years. You can read more about the vision I have to carry forward the mission of CompTIA Spark here. In this space, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on all that we’ve accomplished this year and give a hearty thanks to everyone who has helped make CompTIA Spark so successful—specifically…

To the Districts Using the CompTIA Spark Middle School Curriculum…

We’ve got a number of schools using the middle school curriculum now, helping us promote tech education and providing great feedback that we can use to grow the program even further. As I write this, we have well over 200 schools who have committed to implement our middle school curriculum, serving over 3,000 students, and we’re just getting started.

The feedback we are receiving from the teachers who are among the first to deliver our curriculum has been everything we could hope for. We continue to add new modules and enhance the existing offering. Our development team continues to exceed our expectations, delivering a unique solution that is positively impacting Middle School youth.

To the Businesses, Organizations Supporting CompTIA Spark…

We are very grateful to our numerous philanthropic partners, who help us reach our goals to deliver high-quality tech education to more young people. The generous investments that these partners make in our mission makes it possible for us to develop exciting new programs for students. As we grow our programs, we are constantly seeking new avenues of support for our work. If your organization is interested in partnering with CompTIA Spark, please get in touch. We would love to talk with you.

To the Tech Industry Leaders Helping TechGirlz Workshops...

TechGirlz, powered by CompTIA Spark, doesn’t rely on individual volunteers anymore, rather we’re looking for tech vendors and other organizations to help lead sessions. This is your opportunity to step forward and collaborate with CompTIA Spark to impact girls in grades five to eight through our out-of-school workshops program. We provide all the support you need to deliver a meaningful experience that will excite young girls about all the possibilities tech opens up for their futures. You can make a difference in the life of a young girl. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far and let’s help one another do some important work to help our future generations.

To the Teachers and other Tech Educators Helping to Engage Students…

Thank you to all the teachers on the front lines helping students learn about tech, promoting digital literacy/fluency and igniting the spark that could lead to tech careers down the road. Teachers have a lot on their plates. We designed our curriculum for middle grades so that it would not add to their existing load. With just one professional development day, teachers are able to deliver this important learning experience without having to become a technologist themselves. We often say that every business is a technology business, and we believe this firmly. While we hope we will encourage more youth to pursue tech careers, we also know that no matter the career they may pursue, technology will be a part of it.

To the CompTIA Spark Board of Advisors…

Thank you to our board of advisors for your continued commitment to ensure that CompTIA Spark can fulfill its mission of helping young students develop an interest in tech and build the skills and confidence they need to be successful. Your experience and expertise—plus support and direction—helps us know that what we are doing matters and fulfills a great need.

To the CompTIA Spark Staff…

We are extremely fortunate to have an incredible team of professionals who are passionate about our mission. It’s through their creativity, dedication, hard work, and caring that we are able to do what we do. And we’ve added several new members to our team as we scale our solutions and see the impact of our work. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I hesitate to even call it work. When you believe in our mission as strongly as our team does, this doesn’t feel like work. It feels like an opportunity to make an impact that will make the world a better place, for generations to come. We feel a deep sense of responsibility to this, and I am both humbled and proud to work alongside such a committed team.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank our parent organization, CompTIA, for its commitment to giving back. Most people know CompTIA for our industry leading technology certifications, training, and workforce solutions, or our global member communities. CompTIA Spark is a gift from CompTIA , and the tech industry it represents, to future generations. As a result of building confidence and helping young people prepare for future careers, we are helping address the critical skills gap in our workforce.

We do this by exposing and exciting youth at a critical age. So that regardless of circumstance, every young person understands that there is a place for them in the technology industry or simply working with tech in other industries. The collective work that we do will ensure that the global economy remains strong and secure. So, thank you, to all the staff and volunteers across CompTIA and CompTIA Spark. It is a privilege for each and every one of us to do this work.

MJ Shoer is the CEO of CompTIA Spark and the chief community officer at CompTIA

Get the Facts: Learn more about parent and student perspectives on technology and careers on the CompTIA Spark research page.