EAST FLATBUSH — Journi Brielle Forester knows where she wants to spend the next four years. The rising eighth grader came to Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School’s SPARK summer program with her sights set on the school itself, using the three weeks not just to learn, but to get a feel for the teachers and community she hopes to join.
“I feel welcomed. I’m trying to get to know the teachers who work at Cristo Rey before I transfer into high school,” she said. “I really hope they accept me.”
Part of the appeal of the SPARK program so far, Journi noted, has been the daily prayer.
“I grew up believing in God, but I never really had a relationship with him, I never got to talk to him or anything,” she said. “But I like the fact that we pray every morning and speak to him, and I feel like I’m connected closer to him now.”
Faith is central to SPARK, a new three-week summer program launched by Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School for rising sixth, seventh, and eighth graders in Brooklyn and Queens. Developed in partnership with the Diocese of Brooklyn and nearby Brooklyn Jesuit Prep Middle School, the program welcomed approximately 30 students this year drawn from Catholic schools, charter schools, and public schools.
“We talked about the students that come to us in ninth grade, and how we can get a head start with them,” said Michael Motyl, president of Cristo Rey Brooklyn. “We also looked at how we could be better community partners, knowing that summer is a time when students often need something to do.”
SPARK stands for: spirituality, professionalism, academics, resilience, and knowledge. Each morning, students focus on math, writing, and reading. Afternoons open into recreational activities including chess, Legos, improv, sports, and card games. Every day begins and ends with conversations on professionalism and spirituality led by educators and Cristo Rey seniors.
On June 22, the program kicked off with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert Brennan.
“He spoke to the students about the key role they played in the launch of it and the pride that they should have in being in the inaugural cohort,” Motyl said.
For Emmanuel Johnson, a seventh grader at Midwood Catholic Academy and a parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas, Flatlands, the program was something worth sharing. After hearing about SPARK, he recruited about five friends to join — a nudge that came partly from his pastor, Father Dwayne Davis.
“He was telling me that instead of spending the summer at home playing games, I could come to a fun program and invite my friends with me,” Emmanuel said.
Fellow seventh grader Alexander Sookdeo, also from Midwood Catholic Academy, said SPARK has been preparing him for what comes next.
“I feel like it’s teaching us stuff that can prepare us to go to Catholic high schools, such as here at Cristo Rey,” he said. “The test preparation is really good and would help future SPARK students.”
Alexander recalled a grammar lesson on sentence structure and pronoun use that he said will serve him well going into eighth grade. He also said being able to stay active during the summertime has been equally rewarding.
“I’m able to connect with friends and meet new people, which has been very exciting for me,” he said. “Personally, I think more people should come to this program to get out of their home and play basketball or participate in other programs.”
Tuition starts at $300 but is offered on a sliding scale based on family needs, with outside donors helping to cover costs.
“We never want the cost to be an obstacle to this opportunity,” Motyl said.
The program is expected to return next summer with expanded enrollment. Applications for the 2027 cohort will open toward the end of the school year.