August 5, 2008
For More Information Contact:
Junior Achievement of Eastern Oklahoma
Name Greg Boyd – President Phone number 918-663-2153
Email address greg@jatulsa.org
Junior Achievement of Eastern Oklahoma Wins International Award
JA of Eastern Oklahoma has been named a recipient of the 2008 MetLife Foundation Entrepreneurial Award. The winners were honored July 16 at the JA Worldwide Leadership Conference in Miami, Fla. Since 2001, the award has recognized JA operations that demonstrate entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in achieving sustainable results for JA’s primary stakeholders – students, schools, volunteers, and donors. Each winner receives a cash award of $25,000 to expand its work, and JA Worldwide shares best practices throughout the organization. Junior Achievement of Eastern Oklahoma award-winning initiative is described below.
“JA operations play a vital role in providing young people with the knowledge, skills, and role models they need to succeed in a global economy,” said Sibyl Jacobson, president of MetLife Foundation. “We are pleased to join JA Worldwide in honoring Junior Achievement of Eastern Oklahoma for exemplary innovation and entrepreneurship, which is helping to reach more young people with high-quality, effective programs.”
“Innovation and entrepreneurial thinking drive positive results in our organization and in the business world,” said Sean C. Rush, president and chief executive officer of JA Worldwide. “The winners of this year’s awards provide strong role models in demonstrating leadership and creative thinking—skills that JA programs teach thousands of students around the world every day.”
JAEOK was one of eight winners selected from 65 applicants from 12 countries. A panel of judges, including JA Worldwide board members and a MetLife Foundation representative, selected the winners.
Skills of Success (SOS) Program Initiative.
High School, Classroom-Based Program
When the Mayor’s Office (Tulsa) made the decision to discontinue the Mayor’s Job Fair, there was a shift to expand the city’s existing relationship/sponsorship with Junior Achievement. This initiative is designed to provide a JA program to every student in participating high schools during each of their four years of high school. The projected outcome is to provide students’ the skills necessary to enter the work place. Students benefit from the sequential model of JA’s well-designed curriculum and the positive impact of having four business people serve as mentors by teaching these JA programs.
9th grade program – “JA Economics for Success” a series of six activities which explore personal finance and students’ education and career options based on their skills, interests, and values
10th grade program – Excellence and Ethics… an Executive Speaks, introduces executive-level representatives from local business into classrooms to discuss the ethical decisions they face in their businesses.
11th grade program – JA Success Skills, a series of seven activities, through which students identify and demonstrate the work-readiness skills needed to research, get, and keep a job. They also develop personal strategies and soft-skills to achieve lifelong learning pursuits and career opportunities.
12th grade program – JA Job Shadow introduces students to specific careers through one-day, on-site workplace orientations or shadowing of a business professional. In addition to the on-site visit, students participate in pre and post – site visit activities designed to reinforce this interactive learning opportunity.
The 2007/2008 school year was the 3rd year of implementation for this project. Growth has been strategic starting with 9th graders and adding a grade level and new school yearly until the program spans 9th -12th grades and is school wide. Currently, participating schools are East Central High School, Will Rogers High School, Nathan Hale High School and Webster High School all of which are Title 1 schools, meaning that greater than 50% of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced lunch. During the 2007/2008 school year almost 2,000 students participated in the SOS program. Additional schools are being considered for implementation as resources become available.
External evaluations of JA programs conducted by the Western Institute for Research and Evaluation indicate, “The more JA programs students participated in while in elementary and secondary school, the more likely they were to select a business-related major in college, to rate their computer skills highly, and to participate in entrepreneurial activities after leaving high school. These findings emphasize that participating in JA for four consecutive years, can have a significant impact on students. The WIRE evaluation also indicates that students participating in JA are more likely to attend college, volunteer for non-paid community service projects and hold part-time jobs.
About MetLife Foundation
MetLife
Foundation was established in 1976 by MetLife to carry on its longstanding
tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Grants support
health, education, civic and cultural programs. The Foundation has supported JA
programs since 1979. In addition to sponsoring the Entrepreneurial Award since
2001, the Foundation has provided major funding for development and
implementation of JA Exploring EconomicsTM, a new program that
teaches high school students fundamental economic concepts. The Foundation also
awards grants to local JA operations where MetLife has a major employee
presence, and employees volunteer. For more information about the Foundation,
visit
www.metlife.org.
About JA Worldwide® (Junior Achievement)
JA Worldwide is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA Worldwide offers educational programs that focus on three key content areas: entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. Today, 139 individual area operations reach approximately four million students in the United States, with an additional 4.3 million students served by operations in 118 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.