Peggy F. Sparks is founder of Sparks Consulting, Inc. and recently retired Special Assistant to the Superintendent of Birmingham City Schools. A program development expert, Sparks has earned national recognition for her extensive talent and expertise in designing model youth programs, such as Camp Birmingham and Comprehensive At-Risk Education Services (CARES) as well as collaborative strategies to facilitate parent-community engagement involving the six key stakeholders in the educational process. She is a founding board member of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, Metro Arts Council and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute National 21st Century Community learning Centers Task Force. Sparks has been featured by the U. S. Department of Education, the National Center for Community Education, Kettering Foundation, the C. S. Mott Foundation, National Education Association (NEA), Institute of Educational Leadership (IEL), CNN Health News, Newsweek magazine and Harvard University... maintaining her reputation as an energetic, motivational, resultoriented visionary. She serves on the following Boards: Josephson Institute of Ethics Board of Governors, National Issues Forums Institute Board of Directors, Parent, Teacher Association (PTA) Advisory Board, and the A. G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors. Earning both her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Tuskegee University, Peggy later supervised adult education teachers throughout the Black Belt Counties and published three teaching guides. She is the mother of three children, three grandchildren and a member of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church.

Peggy F. Sparks has designed and implemented afterschool and summer youth development programs since 1976 with Birmingham City Schools.

• 1984 Project SOAR – Stressing Opportunities for Academic Readiness
• 1985 Summer arts Project, “Dancing Through Time”
• 1986 Birmingham Jazz Education Program
• 1987 CARES – Comprehensive At-Risk Educational Services
• 1988 Camp Birmingham
• 1989 Summer Recreation Program
• 1991 Summer Instrumental Music Project
• 1992 IDEA – Institute for Developing Excellence in Academics
• 1993 Cultural Arts Program
• 1996 Blues in the Schools
  Windows into Birmingham Art Project
• 1996 Summer Olympics

Appointed to the National 21st Century Community Learning Center Training Task Force in 1998, she served on the After School Summit (sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education & C. S. Mott Foundation) to write the National Student Performance Indicators, Evaluation Measurement Program Elements 2003. She collaborated with several Regional Laboratories developing afterschool materials and training including South East Development Lab 2000, Southeast Regional Vision for Education SERVE 2002, and the National (NCREL 2005).

She has been featured as a national presenter with Beyond School Hours V & VI (2003 – 2004), sponsored by Foundations, Inc. she completed training to serve as J. C. Penney Afterschool Ambassador (2003) and currently serves as an Alabama Afterschool Ambassador Emeritus through the Afterschool Alliance. She provides Afterschool and Character Counts! (CDS Trainer) through Sparks Consulting, Inc.