Cape, Jackson students learn to be entrepreneurs

During the weeks of Feb. 10 through March 10, Cape Girardeau and Jackson elementary schools will jointly launch their kindergarten through fifth-grade students into their economic futures through a program called Junior Achievements.

Volunteers are still needed in several of the 130 participating classrooms.

More than 2,700 students will begin preparations for the world of work through Junior Achievements business education programs. These programs introduce students to career opportunities and the fundamentals of free enterprise as the activity-based lessons help even the youngest of our community members think like entrepreneurs.

Five-lesson units focus on economic themes relating to families, communities and the nation using hands-on lessons to apply basic skills, think critically and solve problems. The delivery method of Junior Achievements programs brings relevance and added enthusiasm to the classroom because someone other than the students' regular teacher presents the lessons.

Believing "experience is the best teacher," Junior Achievements matches business people from the students' community with programs that relate to their chosen profession.

A 7-year-old may conduct a city council meeting to determine which business should inhabit her community's empty store front while a third-grader ponders the base pay he can offer workers in his restaurant and still make a profit, all with the assistance of a dedicated professional volunteering 45 minutes per lesson.

"Teachers love this program ... it fits so well with Missouri standards for economics, and kids love a different face in the classroom," said Marcia Clark, counselor at Orchard Drive Elementary School in Jackson.

Junior Achievements provides complete materials, lesson plans and training for volunteers free of charge. If you would like to volunteer, contact Melanie Crow at (800) 342-7119 or mcrow@jastl.org.