Spokane educator Melissa Bedford starts as director of creativity hub Spark Central

Apr. 24—Growing up in Reno, Melissa Bedford always loved to read and use imagination. Her dad captured a video of her making up stories while handing out holiday gifts.

She once studied combining Lego robotics with language and literacy learning. As an elementary teacher, Bedford enjoyed relationships with students and families before moving in 2019 to be an Eastern Washington University assistant professor to instruct future teachers.

Today, she can meld all her many interests into a new job as Spark Central's new executive director.

"I missed connecting with families on that personal level, and to the communities in schools," said Bedford, 37. She taught at a Reno Title 1 school, and got invited to quinceañeras and family gatherings, as many students were Hispanic. Former students still call her Tía Bedford.

"I missed supporting kids in what inspires them, and helping them be able to access things they might not be able to. That's one of the big missions for Spark Central, breaking down barriers of cost, access, really to pursue their dreams. It is a big part of what drew me here."

Replacing founding director Brooke Matson, now KSPS education director, Bedford began at Spark on April 10.

The nonprofit grew out of a marriage between the education-focused Spark Center and INK Art Space co-founded by award-winning local author Jess Walter. Spark Center was founded in part by Jim and Joe Frank of Greenstone Homes, developer of Kendall Yards. The groups have worked under the name Spark Central since 2016.

Spark Central Station, at 1214 W. Summit Parkway, is open 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and noon to 7 p.m. Saturday. There's a small library, art supplies galore, tables for creating and inventing, and more.

Bedford's name also is familiar at Spokane Public Schools, after she won a seat on the school board in 2021 with a platform to bring a teacher's voice to the table.

Until her EWU departure March 31, Bedford specialized in literacy studies, children's literature and culturally sustaining pedagogies, which promotes equality across racial and ethnic communities and seeks to ensure access and opportunity. She describes herself as a "proud multiracial Asian American."

"My mom is Chinese and grew up in the Philippines, and my dad is white," she said. "Coming from that multiracial background, I grew up in a house where multiple languages were spoken a lot, but sadly, I did not learn multiple languages because I was a child of the '80s and '90s' educational system, where that wasn't a valued skill.

"My mom can speak fluent English, Cantonese and Tagalog (Filipino). I only got the English part."

Her parents met in San Francisco. An only child, she was born in the Bay Area, where her family lived until moving to Reno when she was 8.

She previously taught in the EWU elementary education program and in literacy. Her focuses included how to use children's literature in the classroom, and noticing the diversity in children's literature that continues to grow.

"It wasn't until I was over 30 that I discovered a children's book where I saw a character who looked like me," she said. That book is called "Eyes That Kiss in the Corners," by Joanna Ho.

"It's about a little girl who is a little embarrassed by her eyes at the start," Bedford said. "The girl says, 'Well, my eyes don't look like the other kids' eyes at school; they're not blue and don't have the long lashes,' but then she goes home and talks to her mom who says, 'No, you have eyes that kiss in the corners and shine like warm tea.' "

The girl in the story then realizes her eyes are special, the same as her mom's, grandmother's and sister's eyes.

"It was only a few years ago that I found this book," Bedford said. "The first time I read it, I cried. I was embarrassed about my eyes. I still remember being in high school and on picture day, I'd sit there and hold my eyes as big as I could and smile, so I'd look like the popular girls. It shouldn't take that long for kids to feel special, especially with our cultural diversity and our LGBT+ students as well, to have those stories matter so much.

"Diversity in literature is a huge piece for me that I'm still very passionate about and hope to continue some of that here at Spark as well."

At the University of Nevada, Reno, she earned a bachelor's degree in political science, with the intent to pursue law, before she pivoted to education. She got a master's in elementary education and taught for sixth, fifth and third grades, but still pursued a doctorate in education.

"My dad likes to call me a professional student, and I happily accept that title because I do love to learn."

In school, she was interested in social studies education, until encouraged to pursue literacy studies. She realized later that both her social studies and her curiosity with STEM could combine with that literacy. Early childhood education requires learning to read, she said. Once that's mastered, children can read to learn.

"I wanted to integrate these concepts and how we can use reading and writing as tools to learn about the world around us. That fueled into my dissertation study — the use of Lego robotics to support the literacy and language acquisition of students identified as English learners."

She learned Lego robotics herself, and did an eight-week study one summer with a free program at a Title 1 school, where many of the students and families couldn't afford $400-$500 Lego kits. Starting with a dozen students, by week's end, it grew to nearly 30 children.

"There's this engagement of having a common goal of building this working robot, and as students engage, they're able to learn language, vocabulary and express through oral language, as well as writing the concepts they are hands-on learning.

"Early on, I'd have a student say, 'I need a piece; it's a black one and looks like this,' to by the end, 'I need a rod that will act as an axle for the tires and it needs to be about 4 inches long.' That's just one example."

In applying to teach at colleges, Eastern Washington felt like home.

"Spokane reminds me so much of Reno, where there is stuff to do in the city but you can still run into someone you know at the grocery store." After moving here August 2019, she soon met partner Jeff Beaulac, who grew up in Spokane Valley.

Away from work, she loves musical theater. "I've seen 'Hamilton' now five times. I played the Wicked Witch of the West in 'The Wizard of Oz' my senior year, one of my favorite memories."

During the pandemic, she and Beaulac fostered shelter dogs and cats. She jokes that's now on a hiatus because of "foster fail." They kept a 3-week-old kitten, Bubbles. There's also now a lab mix, KB.

At Spark Central, Bedford said she's already amazed by the creativity of kids, from use of iPads for Minecraft missions to an art club's creativity.

"We just had a very confident 5-year-old in Minecraft that's typically for ages 7 or 8. She told me, 'I have my rainbow beds over here along this wall and here's my craft table.' Age doesn't matter. That's what is so much about this space and Spark. We get to inspire kids and adults."