TW1
04-21-2006, 02:07 PM
Kids are all business
Disney Junior Achievement mentors teach ideas and methods to schoolchildren.
Debbie Barr
Special to the Sentinel
April 16, 2006
Before the lunch bell rang at Central Avenue Elementary School Wednesday, 9-year-old Christopher Vignati had studied the blueprints for building his own bank. Then he constructed a cardboard pop-up of it, colored the bricks fire-engine red, gave the building a name and placed his new bank in the proper zoning district in an imaginary city he and his third-grade classmates had created.
The bonus for all that work was a big hug from Mickey Mouse.
That day, more than 30 Disney Imagineers and cast members brought their creativity and business sense to the school for "JA in a Day," an immersion program that condensed all five lessons of the elementary Junior Achievement curriculum into one school day for kindergarten through fifth grade.
Christopher and the other third-grade students took a crash course in understanding the elements of a city, including zoning, construction, city planning and different types of careers available.
"It's cool because I get to invent my own place," said Christopher, who lives in Kissimmee.
The apprentice city planners and builders also created a new restaurant concept that took them from menu planning to operation.
Junior Achievement is a nonprofit organization that brings volunteers from the local business community into schools to help students understand the basics of business and economics as well as how communities are structured. The program, which provides volunteers with curricula through the 12th-grade level, also helps students practice decision-making and prepare for the work environment.
Typically, volunteers teach one lesson per week over five weeks using a lesson plan tailored to a specific grade level.
Walt Disney Co. volunteers have participated in programs in Osceola and Orange counties since Walt Disney World opened in 1971. However, this was the first cast-member effort for the accelerated JA in a Day program.
Jack Blitch is vice president of attractions and development for Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. As a JA volunteer, Blitch initiated Disney cast-member participation in Wednesday's event after participating in a similar JA in a Day program in Orlando last fall.
He noted that Disney cast members raised more than $240,000 this year during a JA Bowl-A-Thon. Supporting the program monetarily was only half of the outreach, he said.
"Today, we're following that support into the classroom," he said. "The community supports Disney in such a great way, and this is an opportunity for us to give back."
On Wednesday, Blitch got away from his office to introduce first-grade students to the "Our Families" curriculum. As part of the lesson, he talked about the difference between basic needs (food, clothing and shelter) and wants (everything else). He also pointed out that getting a high school diploma can be both a want and a need when it comes to the working world.
Nancy Hubbard, senior district director of Junior Achievement of Osceola County, said that stressing education is an important part of the curriculum.
"The underlying theme in all of this is the importance of staying in school and getting an education to help improve the quality of their lives when they become part of the work force," said Hubbard, who has organized four JA in a Day programs in the district this school year.
Hubbard said the elementary curriculum starts with "Ourselves" for kindergarten students and then moves up each grade level to encompass family, community, city, region and nation.
"As their world gets bigger, the lessons expand with their awareness of the world around them," she said.
On Wednesday, second-grade students learned the difference between unit and assembly-line production by making doughnuts in a factory, as well as how tax money supports municipal employees, such as firefighters and police officers.
Fourth-grade students explored the path a box of cereal takes to get to the grocery-store shelf, from the trees needed to manufacture the cardboard box to the grain used to make the cereal to the truck that brings the complete package to the store.
Students in fifth-grade classes dabbled in business ownership, where they learned the difference between a sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation. They also were introduced to the concepts of a business plan, hiring employees and advertising.
Longtime JA volunteer Lorraine Roe, operations manager for Disney Vacation Club, said she "keeps coming back for more" because it's rewarding to see the students get excited and completely caught up in learning, creating and using their imaginations.
After Wednesday's business-owner workshop, 10-year-old Linda Ortega's imagination was ignited. The Kissimmee fifth-grader said she was intrigued by the idea of opening her own art gallery or art store.
"I think it's interesting because I might own a business sometime," Linda said. "I like being a leader."
For more information about the program, call Hubbard at 407-847-2518 or visit orlando.ja.org.
Disney Junior Achievement mentors teach ideas and methods to schoolchildren.
Debbie Barr
Special to the Sentinel
April 16, 2006
Before the lunch bell rang at Central Avenue Elementary School Wednesday, 9-year-old Christopher Vignati had studied the blueprints for building his own bank. Then he constructed a cardboard pop-up of it, colored the bricks fire-engine red, gave the building a name and placed his new bank in the proper zoning district in an imaginary city he and his third-grade classmates had created.
The bonus for all that work was a big hug from Mickey Mouse.
That day, more than 30 Disney Imagineers and cast members brought their creativity and business sense to the school for "JA in a Day," an immersion program that condensed all five lessons of the elementary Junior Achievement curriculum into one school day for kindergarten through fifth grade.
Christopher and the other third-grade students took a crash course in understanding the elements of a city, including zoning, construction, city planning and different types of careers available.
"It's cool because I get to invent my own place," said Christopher, who lives in Kissimmee.
The apprentice city planners and builders also created a new restaurant concept that took them from menu planning to operation.
Junior Achievement is a nonprofit organization that brings volunteers from the local business community into schools to help students understand the basics of business and economics as well as how communities are structured. The program, which provides volunteers with curricula through the 12th-grade level, also helps students practice decision-making and prepare for the work environment.
Typically, volunteers teach one lesson per week over five weeks using a lesson plan tailored to a specific grade level.
Walt Disney Co. volunteers have participated in programs in Osceola and Orange counties since Walt Disney World opened in 1971. However, this was the first cast-member effort for the accelerated JA in a Day program.
Jack Blitch is vice president of attractions and development for Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. As a JA volunteer, Blitch initiated Disney cast-member participation in Wednesday's event after participating in a similar JA in a Day program in Orlando last fall.
He noted that Disney cast members raised more than $240,000 this year during a JA Bowl-A-Thon. Supporting the program monetarily was only half of the outreach, he said.
"Today, we're following that support into the classroom," he said. "The community supports Disney in such a great way, and this is an opportunity for us to give back."
On Wednesday, Blitch got away from his office to introduce first-grade students to the "Our Families" curriculum. As part of the lesson, he talked about the difference between basic needs (food, clothing and shelter) and wants (everything else). He also pointed out that getting a high school diploma can be both a want and a need when it comes to the working world.
Nancy Hubbard, senior district director of Junior Achievement of Osceola County, said that stressing education is an important part of the curriculum.
"The underlying theme in all of this is the importance of staying in school and getting an education to help improve the quality of their lives when they become part of the work force," said Hubbard, who has organized four JA in a Day programs in the district this school year.
Hubbard said the elementary curriculum starts with "Ourselves" for kindergarten students and then moves up each grade level to encompass family, community, city, region and nation.
"As their world gets bigger, the lessons expand with their awareness of the world around them," she said.
On Wednesday, second-grade students learned the difference between unit and assembly-line production by making doughnuts in a factory, as well as how tax money supports municipal employees, such as firefighters and police officers.
Fourth-grade students explored the path a box of cereal takes to get to the grocery-store shelf, from the trees needed to manufacture the cardboard box to the grain used to make the cereal to the truck that brings the complete package to the store.
Students in fifth-grade classes dabbled in business ownership, where they learned the difference between a sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation. They also were introduced to the concepts of a business plan, hiring employees and advertising.
Longtime JA volunteer Lorraine Roe, operations manager for Disney Vacation Club, said she "keeps coming back for more" because it's rewarding to see the students get excited and completely caught up in learning, creating and using their imaginations.
After Wednesday's business-owner workshop, 10-year-old Linda Ortega's imagination was ignited. The Kissimmee fifth-grader said she was intrigued by the idea of opening her own art gallery or art store.
"I think it's interesting because I might own a business sometime," Linda said. "I like being a leader."
For more information about the program, call Hubbard at 407-847-2518 or visit orlando.ja.org.