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Interaction grooms kids for business Program adds volunteers with skills to share By VICKI GUARINO From a modest start in White City Elementary School with a few hundred kids, a program that brings real-world business and economics instruction into classrooms is preparing to reach more than 3,000 students. Junior Achievement has grown from a small, pilot project, with a slightly different focus than the national programs that have been around for decades, to reach every Jackson County district and Grants Pass schools. Now entering its fifth year, Junior Achievement is struggling with a consequence of success, says coordinator Mary Holbrook: Demand for the program is far exceeding the supply of business volunteers. So far this summer, Holbrook has received 120 requests from classroom teachers representing some 3,600 students. Although she hasn't actively solicited requests, she says, teachers and schools new to the program are applying. "It's word of mouth, that's what's happening," Holbrook says. For teachers and students, Junior Achievement offers a way to broaden curriculum and offer variety and a change of pace in classroom instruction. For volunteers, like Lithia Motors vice president Jeff DeBoer, the program gives business a chance to get involved in education. DeBoer drew on his background in business and finance for weekly discussions and activities at North Medford High School last spring. He walked his class through economics news reports, talked about basic economic principles and personal finance, and doled out $15,000 in imaginary money for each student to play the stock market. One piece of investment advice DeBoer gave: "I told them to `buy what you like,' because if you like the product, chances are others do, too. "A couple of the kids turned their $15,000 into $30,000 in just the little three-month period." He says his school visits helped students by giving them a business perspective they probably couldn't get from a teacher alone. "It was great," DeBoer says. "It's not lecturing; it's interaction. You talk about real activities." He says he's found a new calling. "I'm doing it again this term," he says. "I'm going to do it every term." DeBoer says he also has persuaded other business people to enroll in Junior Achievement, providing some of the staff Holbrook badly needs. Last year the program reached 3,000 students, but Holbrook says that was just a third of the classroom requests she received. Unlike most Junior Achievement programs, which are run in larger metropolitan areas by business organizations, the Jackson County program is run by an anti-poverty agency, ACCESS Inc. Economic education may seem far removed from ACCESS' primary emphasis on food programs for the needy, but Holbrook says Junior Achievement can have big long-term economic benefits in the community. "By offering the program, we're hoping these students won't become ACCESS clients," she says. Despite its sponsorship, the Junior Achievement program in the classroom does not focus on students from low-income families, or schools in poor communities. Most of the requests for Junior Achievement programs come from elementary teachers, starting with the third grade. Volunteers at that age level spend one hour a week for five weeks in a classroom. Work is incorporated into the social studies curriculum. Service ranges up to one hour a week for 10 weeks at the high school level. Junior Achievement provides curriculum, texts, teacher study guides, materials and suggestions for classroom activities. Lithia Motors, for instance, paid for economics texts so that students would be able to keep their books after the program ended. Anyone interested in volunteering or aiding Junior Achievement may call Holbrook at ACCESS, 779-6691. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA