Every school year, scholars, parents, media and politicians debate the best way to educate our youth and prepare them for success in a growing global economy. The debate is often centered on whether public, private or charter schools offer the best opportunities for kids to succeed. Each institution has its own supporters and detractors, successes and failures. One point everyone agrees on is that every student deserves access to a quality education despite their economic situation.
Unfortunately, public schools face multiple challenges that impact our teachers’ ability to effectively educate their students, and the challenges are compounded in economically distressed areas. As a kid growing up in Macon, GA, I attended both a school located in a lower economic community and one in a more affluent area. These varied experiences helped me understand the important role financial and socio-economic differences play on education.
Hard work and dedication helped bring my vision to life. I serve as vice president of channel operations at Cricket Wireless, a subsidiary of AT&T, where I’m responsible for customer care, training and communications, digital experience and sales operations. I’m proud to represent both AT&T and Cricket. Our employees donate countless dollars and volunteer hours to support organizations like Junior Achievement (JA). JA is redesigning the student learning experience in Georgia, which we hope will serve as a model for schools across the country.
“There is a direct correlation between education and economic development,” said Jack Harris, president & CEO, Junior Achievement of GA. “Through strategic partnerships between JA, school systems and the business community, this model [JA Academy] has the potential to transform education to meet the needs of today’s students. Together we can bring innovation to education in order to create more pipelines to economic opportunities for all students.”
The JA Academy is a full immersion “school-within-a-school” model that acts as a joint venture between JA, the local school system, and the business community. It’s designed to provide rigorous standards-based education infused with career readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. This model ensures that learning is relevant, experiential and authentically connected to the complexities that exist beyond the classroom walls.
This model is working and JA recently announced that the program will launch in Atlanta Public Schools at the start of the 2017 school year. It’s currently operating in two school systems in Metro Atlanta – Fulton County Schools and Gwinnett County Public Schools – and, the first-year results are really encouraging:
Source: LA Sentinel | George Cleveland
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