Sparta aims to teach students to understand and craft public policy initiatives based on an ethnic studies and community-centered approach. Our curriculum incorporates ethnic studies teachings that frame human outcomes as influenced by larger structural forces and systems of power.

Sparta adds a new dimension for practicing and judging speech and debate: systemic analysis. Students will be expected to learn to debate and present on topics in a manner that considers systemic inequalities and systems of power, as well as with sensitivity to the populations involved. We encourage students to center their identity in all discussions. The focus is not what is "competitive," but what discussions must be held for our respective communities to gain power in the long term.

Our coaches are undergraduate and graduate university students that come from a variety of marginalized backgrounds. Based on identity, they are paired with a cohort of four students to mentor and teach over the course of the students’ K-12 career. Coaches are taught to incorporate ethnic studies teachings and policy into debate lessons to empower students to understand and think critically about policy and legislation. Our ethnic studies and public policy curriculum contributors work with one another to create lessons and prompts that are contextualized to the different needs of students.

Class teachings pull from college and university level ethnic studies and political science courses from around the state, such as the University of California, Berkeley, and San Francisco State University. All lessons are interactive, and students are encouraged to interact with and challenge the material presented.

The ultimate goal of Sparta is to improve students’ research and critical thinking skills, encourage students to enroll in higher education after high school, and contribute to their communities at every stage of life.