For more information:
Wendy Walleigh
408-988-8915 x208
wwalleigh@jascc.org
At 8:15 a.m. on Friday, October 25, 2002, over 30 SBC Pacific Bell volunteers gathered in the media center at Anne Darling Elementary School in San Jose. Each volunteer was about to test his or her creativity, dedication, and stamina for JA in a Day, where each person is "teacher for the day" using Junior Achievement's grade-appropriate curriculum. Assembly Member Elaine Alquist kicked off the day with inspiring words about the impact the volunteers were about to have on the Kindergarten to Fifth grade students.
By 8:45 am, all the SBC Pac Bell volunteers were deployed in the classrooms, facing students' clean and shiny faces and, for many of them, the challenges of bilingual teaching. But the teachers were ready to translate and help because they were excited to repeat last year's energizing experience with SBC and Junior Achievement. Many teachers were planning once again to reinforce the JA curriculum with their students, long after JA in a Day. According to principal Linda Herschbach, "Last year and now this past week, SBC Pac Bell volunteers have had such a great impact on the school. The teachers like that the SBC volunteers appreciate them and understand what teaching is about. JA in a Day is a very hands-on, real-life experience for our children—planning a city, trying out advertising, and beginning a business. For the students, it's an entirely different viewpoint than they normally get."
Nichole Orta is an outstanding example of SBC Pac Bell's commitment to volunteerism and the community. Nichole, Engineering Manager for SBC's South Bay Construction & Engineering, has now taught Junior Achievement for 4 years, most recently taking on the challenge of 5th grade at Anne Darling. Nichole said, "I enjoy the interaction with the children. It's different from when we were little. As I grew up in the Latin culture it was unusual for a woman to have an aggressive career. My parents instilled in me the values that allowed me to move up. The 5th graders really listen when I talk about my experience and about the importance of staying in school. It keeps me volunteering in the classroom."
Mark Shults, Executive Director of External Affairs at SBC, volunteered to teach 3rd grade this year at Anne Darling. "When members of the business community volunteer their time and insights in the classroom it creates a win-win scenario. Students learn practical applications for the math and social science curriculum being taught through their classes, and volunteer teachers gain a better understanding and appreciation for the contribution educators make in our communities every day. It is amazing how intelligent and excited these kids are to learn new ideas and concepts, and I can only hope this quest for knowledge follows them throughout their scholastic careers and eventually into the workforce. Junior Achievement's JA in a Day is a very innovative and rewarding program, and I look forward to participating again next year."
Almost half of the SBC volunteers had returned from last year's JA in a Day at Anne Darling Elementary because they felt rewarded in several ways. Volunteers felt good about the company encouraging them to give back while they were also enhancing SBC Pacific Bell's contribution to the community. Using the Junior Achievement curricula at the different grade levels enabled the volunteers to see students' year-to-year progress. Most importantly the SBC Pac Bell volunteers thoroughly enjoyed working with the students. As SBC Pacific Bell, Junior Achievement and Anne Darling School know, it's the students' enthusiasm and skill-growth that is the greatest reward. One teacher said that the kids wanted to know if their volunteer was coming back on Monday...that says it all!
Junior Achievement of Silicon Valley & Monterey Bay is the premier K - 12 economic education organization. Globally, Junior Achievement is the largest and fastest-growing nonprofit economic education organization, annually teaching 6 million elementary, middle school and high school students in over 110 countries. Junior Achievement's mission is to ensure that every child in America has a fundamental understanding of the free enterprise system. Since 1953, Junior Achievement has partnered with businesses, communities and schools from Silicon Valley to Monterey Bay to teach young people the principles of free enterprise so that they understand business and economics and are workforce-ready. Only Junior Achievement teaches K - 12th grade students about the relevance of school to their future success by using community and business role models to bring our classroom programs to life. In multiple classroom visits, these volunteers use their experience and knowledge to help students become workforce-ready by applying critical thinking and school skills to solving real-world problems. As a result, approximately 27,500 children from this past year will impact Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay communities as successful individuals, workers and consumers. Junior Achievement of Silicon Valley & Monterey Bay: Impacting local economic education one classroom at a time. For more information and to get involved, visit http://www.jascc.org or call 408-988-8915.
