Thanks for All That You Do

Just taking a moment out of this busy holiday season to say thanks for everything that you do.

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JA Sparked a Light in Me

JA-Rocky Mountain has more than 3,500 volunteers who reach more than 100,000 Kindergarten through 12th grade students each year in 535 area schools.  Every JA encounter makes an impact on both the student and the volunteer.  Following is a story by Ginger Short who graciously agreed to share her experience about volunteering in a 5th grade classroom.

The day of JA was one that sparked a light inside of me that had been out for a long time. The day was foreshadowed with anticipation about whether I would be capable of teaching a classroom, if the students would listen to my lessons, and if my presence in that school would make an impact. That morning I think I believed the answer to all of these questions would be, “No.”  But as soon as I stepped into the front doors of the elementary school with my teammates on either side, the perspective shifted.

Immediately greeted by a warm smile and an inviting introduction, the teacher ushered us into his 5th grade classroom, overcrowded with desks. After stating his appreciation for our presence, he told us of the demographic of students we would be meeting. The school had every child on free lunch programs due to the high rate of poverty. Most students lived in neighboring trailer parks often being raised by single parents or grandparents. If that wasn’t enough to break our hearts, he went on to tell us that many students were struggling to read and write at their grade level. All this information was noteworthy, but what I remember better than any other words he spoke was, “ I love these kids, they know I’d do anything for them.” His compassion and dedication to these students was inspiration enough to get us amped for the day.

I taught the first lesson to the class, looking into the eyes of 30 strangers. I think looking at each one of them, calling them by name, seeing their smiles, hearing their laughter and knowledge, eradicated our unfamiliarity. By the end of that day, not one of those incredible children was a stranger to me. I knew their family stories, classroom crushes, hobbies, strengths, fears, dreams and aspirations. The children’s willingness to engage, ask questions, share ideas and listen was astounding. I was so impressed by the uniqueness that each student brought to the atmosphere of the room. With each lesson, the teacher would reassure us of the great job we were doing with the conduction of his classroom. I think all the praise he gave us for that one day should be returned to him tenfold. The compassion, time, interest, patience and wisdom he gives to those students everyday is more than honorable. Teachers truly deserve much more admiration and respect than they receive for the difficult yet essential position they employ.

After all the lessons had been taught, my teammates and I decided to share our personal stories of getting into college. We spoke of coming from single parent households, living under the poverty level, overcoming adversities and gaining strength through hardships. The room was heavy with emotion as the children listened to stories that sounded strangely like theirs. We all concluded with encouragement for the children to pursue college regardless of their circumstances. Then children rushed to share their personal experiences with hardship, fears regarding college and ask questions about our stories. One child told us that he wants to be a surgeon, an accomplishment that would far outreach this mother’s 5th grade education.

We chatted with the students about life, about school and about family until the bell rang. Then the children gathered around us giving us hugs, high-fives, “thank you” and “I’ll miss yous.” Their thankfulness seemed out of place, because we were the ones truly blessed by the experience of JA. Our day teaching that 5th grade classroom marked the ignition of rediscovered passion for concern with children, education and community awareness as I experienced the impact my feeble story could create for the hearts and minds of these young students.

Thanks to Ginger and all of our wonderful volunteers! 

If you would like to learn more about getting involved with JA, visit the Volunteers section of our website.

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Save the Date! Fiscal Fitness Workshop

The Colorado Jump$tart Coalition and Great-West Life offer this FREE, hands-on, 3-day workshop to help you and fellow educators build knowledge about personal finance topics to reinforce your excitement and ability to bring the same knowledge to students.

Join us Jan. 26 - 28, 2012
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily
Front Range Community College
Westminster, CO

What’s in it for you?

  • Reimbursement for substitutes for Thursday and Friday
  • Personal stipend for Saturday
  • FREE reference materials for you and your classroom
  • Graduate credit available
  • Timely and critical information to increase your personal
    and professional knowledge
  • Access to personal finance experts
  • Access to Jump$tart members and resources at a vendor expo
  • Breakfast and lunch each day
  • Networking happy hour Thursday afternoon

Who should attend?

Open to all P-12 Colorado teachers, administrators and content specialists.
2011 Fiscal Fitness workshop attendees, substitutes and retired teachers will be put on a waiting list.


How do I register?

Registration opens on the Colorado Jump$tart website in mid-November.

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Viewpoints for U.S. High School Juniors

Today, Junior Achievement and the National Chamber Foundation released findings from the Free Enterprise National Survey. High school juniors across the U.S. revealed their knowledge and perceptions of entrepreneurship, free enterprise and capitalism and how these factors will influence their future career choices. Not unlike many Americans, high school students are concerned with the state of the nation’s economy and the effect it could have on their entrepreneurial aspirations. The study also reveals that nine in 10 juniors believe it is important that students are taught about entrepreneurship, free enterprise and capitalism. Nearly two-thirds would be interested in taking a class on entrepreneurship.

This survey underscores the importance of JA programs in schools. Junior Achievement offers a number of programs centering on entrepreneurship and free enterprise ideals, including a weeklong summer camp for high school students called JA Business Week where students work with local companies on an “Apprentice”-style project, learn how local business got their start and find out more about themselves and their futures.

Read the full National Free Enterprise Survey executive summary and contact us to find out how you can help inspire students to be entrepreneurial.

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Teachers, Students and Volunteers Value JA

We asked and you responded. Check out the great feedback we received from teachers and volunteers about Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain, Inc.’s work to improve financial literacy, workplace readiness and entrepreneurial skills in Metro Denver and northern Colorado classrooms.

Volunteer Feedback

“I thought it was a great experience. The children thoroughly enjoyed the content and activities and were highly engaged throughout the entire day, which I found pleasantly surprising.”

“I have enjoyed being a JA volunteer it makes such a difference in the day-to-day grind of the lives of these kids as well as for me I love hearing their stories and their ideas for the bright shining future as they are our future I think investing time into them is one of the best things we can do as adults. I just love it!”

“It is funny how the anticipation of teaching little kids can make you nervous, but the materials that were provided by JA helped me feel at ease as I began the day. The lesson plan was engaging and well-suited for the grade level of the students. In the end, my feet hurt and the kids wore me out, but I had a great time!”

“I loved getting to know all the students by name. I was thrilled to teach the kids about getting a pay check and then having to pay taxes. And that the government doesn’t sell goods, they need taxes to pay the government workers. And that the even the government workers pay taxes. They really get it!! It’s amazing and rewarding to see that.”

“This is a great school and all of the kids except two in my class have completed all five years of JA through elementary school. Each one said they have kept the certificates and can’t wait for the next time we visit.”

Teacher Feedback

“This is my second year having JA in my room. The kids love it!!! They have really learned a lot. It is great to have a five-week program in which the students learn such great information!”

“When the students were doing the lesson about what they want to be when they grow up, they had a lot of unique and different ideas of what they could do. I think this was due to the previous JA lessons and the discussion that was done before the students shared their choice of what they wanted to be.”

“This is my first time using JA in my classroom. I liked how it was something new and different for the kids. They were so excited for it every week and especially excited about all the fun pages they got to take home to show their families.”

“I have had JA in my classroom for many years. I love having a person from the community come in to work with the kids. The kids LOVE it also. I think it has helped having the same volunteer year after year!”

“My students always enjoy when our volunteer comes and leads them in their business simulation. It is a chance for them to take what they have learned throughout the semester and apply it to a real-life scenario. My favorite experience is when I have a student say, ‘oh this stuff does actually work in real life.’”

It’s clear that volunteers, teachers and students alike find value in JA programs. Share your JA experience with your family, friends and neighbors and encourage them to get involved with Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain. Visit www.jacolorado.org to learn more about how to become a volunteer or to register your class for a JA program.

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