Program that brings community to classroom may be cut

An educational program that local teachers say is invaluable to students is on its deathbed as the likelihood of finding funding diminishes.

For the past three years, Junior Achievement Inc. has brought community members -- bankers, construction workers, salespeople, firefighters -- into local classrooms to teach elementary students about career choices, the economy and life.

Along the way, students have learned how to make a bank deposit, build a city and start a clothing company. They've experienced paying taxes, working in an assembly line and writing a newspaper article.

"It's a program that isn't a bunch of fluff," said Susan Ayers, a fourth-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary in Cape Girardeau. "I hate that we may lose it, because the students responded so well to it. It's going to hurt."

Funding for Cape Girardeau County's program, which originally came from the St. Louis-based chapter of JA, is no longer available. The program will not continue next year if $13,000 for the cost of materials cannot be raised by September.

The program provides such supplies as workbooks, posters, rulers, journals and instructional kits that teachers and students can keep.

Economics and business

Last year, 2,800 students in Cape Girardeau County schools participated in the program. Teachers say JA is especially helpful because it provides hard-to-find materials that focus on economics and business, topics that closely tie in with the state's annual achievement test -- the Missouri Assessment Program.

Junior Achievement, a nonprofit national organization, provides its six-week programs at no cost to schools while seeking support from local businesses, foundations and individuals. The state's economic downturn has greatly affected the amount of financial backing the St. Louis chapter received this year.

Now working with a funding deficit, the chapter can no longer afford to sustain the Cape Girardeau program without significant local assistance.

"The dollars just aren't there. Many nonprofits have felt the economic downturn. This year, it hit us," said Melanie Crow, a director with the St. Louis Junior Achievement chapter.

Crow said she has spent three years trying to generate awareness and interest in the program in Cape Girardeau County.

"We've gained volunteers, but not financial backing," Crow said.

Local teachers, who say the program is a huge benefit to students, are still hopeful that more money might be secured in the near future.

"We can do other things during that six weeks, but they won't be nearly as exciting," said Marcia Clark, a counselor at Orchard Elementary. "We know the economy is tough now, but I still think, if people know it's such a worthwhile program, we might be able to make it work."

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128

For information regarding the local Junior Achievement program, call (800) 342-7119.