
Students are engaged and attentive.
Tommie Barfield Elementary second graders were in for a treat this year when Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida brought the “Our Community” program to each of their classes. Special guest speakers included local businessmen and women, from financiers, government officials, entrepreneurs and more.
So what is Junior Achievement? JA’s website indicates, “JA is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. The program allows volunteers from the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their experiences with students. Embodying the heart of JA, our classroom volunteers transform the key concepts of our lessons into a message that inspires and empowers students to believe in themselves, showing them they can make a difference in the world. Students put these lessons into action

Community leaders like Tarik Ayasun work with teachers.
One community volunteer is partnered with each individual class. The six volunteers teaching the programs at Tommie Barfield this year were: Tarik Ayasun of Taray International, Jamie Bergen of Harbor Investments, Raul Medina of Suntrust Bank, Bruce Graev of Diagnostics Financial Group, Jennifer Stanley with Mutual Bank of Omaha and Bonnie Zaikov with Realty Executives, each successful in their careers. Tarik, Jamie, Raul and Bruce are all members of the Marco Noontime Rotary.
In November of last year, Brittany Dixon, Program Manager at Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida (JASWFL), spoke to the Rotary members to raise awareness of JA programs and to drum up additional community volunteers to teach the programs in the classrooms. William Laimbeer, Sr., a Rotarian, was instrumental in bringing the current program to Marco Island.
The commitment as

Students learned about mass vs unit production with doughnuts.
The students are exposed to positive role models from the local communities who bring the curriculum to life as they share personal examples and stories within the context of the lessons. The materials include a guide with easy to follow lessons, fun games, interactive discussions, and group activities. About 80%

These students earned pay for their jobs.
Tarik Ayasun, a local businessman and winner of the Economic Development Council’s Export Excellence Award, volunteered his time to come to the classroom. This is Tarik’s second time bringing the program to students. Bringing JA to the young students touches his heart, “It is one of the most rewarding experiences in my life, teaching second graders about community, government, jobs and opportunities. Some years ago, I participated in the program and liked it. So when the opportunity

Having fun collecting taxes?
Of course, JA’s courses are not limited to elementary education. The JA Economics for Success program is taught to middle school students. With an ongoing middle school initiative in Collier County, this program is taught in approximately 60- 8th grade classrooms across the 10 Collier County Middle Schools. This is a very practical program every student should experience before his or her first year in high school. The program focuses on career exploration (what are the students’ skills, interests and values and how do they align with various career choices?), the importance of staying in school, and teaching students how to be financially savvy (simple budgets, credit scores and how decisions affect it, paying cash vs. credit, and why insurance is needed).
The projected classes JA will bring to the schools this year total 224

Michael Nachef and State Senator Richter volunteered. PHOTOS BY VAL SIMON AND BONNIE ZAIKOV/COASTAL BREEZE NEWS
These programs are designed to help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities.
JA’s unique approach allows volunteers from the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their experiences with students. Embodying the heart of JA, our classroom volunteers transform the key concepts of our lessons into a message that inspires and empowers students to believe in themselves, showing them they can make a difference in the world.
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