JA STUDENTS FLOOD INTO FORD PLANT More than 400 students from area high schools learned about careers in advanced manufacturing at the Ford Louisville Assembly Plant during the school year. JA Board Member Tami Hatfield-Kennedy and her colleagues conducted 18 separate JA Job Shadow events where students learned about careers in manufacturing, toured the plant, and practiced assembling parts in a simulated factory. In addition, students practiced the soft skills needed for success in the workforce. This high school capstone experience brings real-life messages to students as they make that leap into the next phase of their lives. JA INSPIRE BRINGS CAREERS TO LIFE JA Inspire, created by a coalition of educators and industry leaders and led by Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana, energized students, educators and business mentors during this pilot year. At the center of this work were powerful events that were massive, measured both in square feet and impact. Much like JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, all students participated in classroom curriculum before and after the event. The capstone experience of JA Inspire was an interactive, hands-on, career exploration for 8th-9th grade students. The events, held at the Kentucky Exposition Center, featured a showcase of careers attainable at regional businesses, non-profits, government agencies and educational organizations. October 2017 will bring a greatly-expanded JA Inspire event which will include 100 interactive career stations with 400 mentors who will share their career advice with nearly 10,000 students, engaging them with equipment, technology and the opportunity to “step into the shoes” of employees from all industries. JA GOES DIGITAL Junior Achievement is always striving to put forth programs that are not only on the cutting edge of the educational landscape but also closely aligned with state academic content standards. JA made progress toward our goal of moving all middle and high school programs to the blended learning format with the roll-out of the blended versions of JA Personal Finance® and JA Global Marketplace®. This approach merges JA’s proven volunteer-based delivery model with the latest technology to create a blended learning environment that provides a relevant, responsive and innovative portfolio of learning experiences. A U.S. Department of Education meta-study shows blended learning is more effective than online-only learning models, especially when it relates to at-risk populations. Add to it a passionate JA volunteer, and the inspiration starts flowing!
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