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Supporter Spotlight: Union Pacific Railroad
JA of South Texas thanks Union Pacific Railroad for its
recent contribution. Presenting a check for support of JA programs
implemented at schools with a majority population of economically
disadvantaged students is Ivan Jaime (left), Director of Border and
Community Affairs.
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Calendar
Laredo Business Hall of Fame
May 06,
2010
San Antonio Wild West Auction
May 15,
2010
Corpus Christi
Business Hall of Fame
May 18,
2010
San Antonio H-E-B Bowl-A-Thon
May
21-22, 2010
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Each of the
nine JA Areas in Texas, including JA of South Texas, had the
opportunity to participate in an independent evaluation of the
impact of JA's high school programs on local students last year.
The results answered three basic questions:
- Is
student participation in JA related to increased knowledge of
the content knowledge of the program? Content
knowledge showed significant increases given the relative
short time volunteers are with students - from 5 to 8 sessions
of approximately an hour each. The positive increases in
content knowledge ranged from 4.3 percentage points for the JA
Financial Literacy to 12.7 for JA Success Skills to almost 14
for JA Banks in Action, with an overall increase of 5
percentage points across all JA programs. Since the content of
each program is aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and
Skills, these increases are associated with improved college
readiness, workforce readiness, and financial literacy,
depending upon the curriculum of the particular program in
which the students participated.
- Is
student participation in JA related to increased awareness of
career options and how school relates to them? In the program
JA Careers with a Purpose, responses demonstrated an improved
knowledge of postsecondary career options along with an
increased appreciation for how school relates to those options
and the real world, and that students learned about the
importance of money management. In the program JA Success
Skills, students gained knowledge of the 21st Century skills:
communication, listening, and building rapport.
- Is
student participation in JA related to increased engagement in
school?
Analysis
of post-tests showed that students across all programs had an
improved attitude towards school and an increased level of
engagement.
For an executive summary, go here. The
evaluation was conducted by Dr. Lee Holcombe, Director of the Texas
Higher Education Policy Institute. Prior to his arrival at the
THECB, Dr. Holcombe was Director of Evaluation and Special Projects
at the Texas Schools Project (TSP) at UT-Dallas, one of the three
designated state education research centers.
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Experience Capital
One/Junior Achievement
Finance Park™
Recent events clearly demonstrate the need for
a better understanding of the fundamentals of financial literacy.
Being able to live within one's means, understand the use and abuse
of credit, develop a budget, and invest for the future are all
critical skills needed to successfully transition to adulthood and
thrive. Capital
One/Junior Achievement Finance Park™, the mobile
version of JA
Finance Park™, is operating in San Antonio through May
28th.
JA Finance Park targets
middle grade students and combines classroom activities with a site
visit where students will be given a life scenario (complete with
an annual salary and family situation) and work to develop a
monthly budget based on 18 spending categories. After the visit to JA Finance Park,
students engage in career exploration activities that allow them to
connect their current education with future earning power. To learn
more, go here. You are
cordially invited to tour JA
Finance Park and see JA in action. To do so, go here.
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