How many fifth graders can say they have operated a bank, managed a restaurant, written checks, or voted for mayor? As the school year draws to a close, 1,239 Carlsbad fifth graders can boast these experiences and more, thanks to the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Partners in Education Foundation.
Under the award-winning Junior Achievement program called JA BizTown, students visit a model municipality, where they learn some of the basics of commerce, including earning a paycheck, applying for a loan, paying taxes and looking for a job. The program is underwritten for many Carlsbad schools by the efforts of the Chamber's Partners in Education foundation, as well as other contributors, including Barnhart Construction and The Newcomers' Club.
According to Chamber CEO Ted Owen, Biz Town is a perfect match for the Chamber's educational outreach mission. “Teaching our young people about the ways in which the business community works, how each person contributes to that economic model and what a working commerce has to offer each person in return is a significant part of a well rounded education,” he said. “It's at the heart of why we exist.”
Penny Rantfle, director of Junior Achievement's BizTown for San Diego and Imperial counties recalls that the San Diego BizTown program grew out of the realization that her two school-aged sons were not making the connection between class time and their future. “They were learning all the basics, and understanding them, but they were not putting it all together with what they would need to know in the real world,” she said.
Rantfle's quest to find a program that helped students make that connection lead her to Junior Achievement, which had adopted the BizTown
model from its starting point in the Florida school system.
The real world is what students of BizTown get to know. For one day, they become adults and operate a life-sized mini-municipality complete with a bank, businesses, a snack shop, City Hall, professional offices, radio station, T.V. station and a community charity. They become doctors, construction workers, business managers, real-estate agents, meter readers, philanthropists and accountants. In other words, they have an up-close and personal opportunity to explore the free enterprise system and to enhance their personal economic literacy.
The Carlsbad Chamber's Partners in Education has been involved with BizTown for two years. According to Chamber COO Toni Padron, it costs approximately $25 per student to attend the BizTown program, including teacher training and student transportation. “It's a cost that we share with the district,” she said. “We wanted to help students take advantage of this worthy opportunity to interact with business in a real-world setting.”
The Chamber's Partners in Education Foundation raises funds via programs such as the Outstanding Educational Program awards dinner, the Annual Golf Tournament and various grants. Profits from these programs help underwrite the cost of sending Carlsbad students to BizTown.
“Partners in Education's mission is to provide every Carlsbad fifth-grade student attending school either in Carlsbad Unified School District or the Encinitas Union School District the opportunity to learn the life skills of entrepreneurship, work ethics and readiness, financial literacy, and good citizenship in their communities,” Padron said. “Our Chamber members work hard to make sure this happens.”
Junior Achievement's BizTown introduces students to economics and business through classroom instruction, followed by a daylong hands-on experience where students apply learned concepts in a life-like community. During this one-day experience students run businesses, receive paychecks, open bank accounts, and have the opportunity to become consumers by making purchases from student-run businesses in the Town.
Carlsbad school teachers have embraced BizTown with enthusiasm and excitement. The JA BizTown curriculum addresses the California State Standards with rigor and makes learning relevant for students. “BizTown is an experience that helps make the connection at a critical point in these students' education,” Rantfle said.
Megan Smith, who teaches fifth grade at Pacific Rim Elementary School was part of the pilot program for BizTown. “The majority of my time as a teacher is spent on basic subject matter curriculum. And while all this is extremely important for kids and their futures, sometimes it's hard for them to make the real-world connections,” she said.
“BizTown gives us the opportunity to put away the textbooks and just focus on the real world. BizTown deals with both the business side of things — goods/services, taxes, cash flow, interdependence — as well as the personal side of things — bank accounts, checks, deposit tickets, registers — and the steps required to apply for and get a job.”
Smith especially values the hands-on quality of the BizTown experience. “The kids learn first hand what it takes to work as team, run a quality business, and pay back a bank loan. It's so rewarding as a teacher to see them take on an adult role, dress professionally, and then struggle through all the challenges real employees in the businesses world would face,” Smith said. “The growth that happens in just one day is indescribable. This field trip is the most anticipated day of the school year.”
Owen feels that the Chamber's efforts are well spent on BizTown. “We could not be prouder of our involvement with BizTown,” he said. “Making kids experience the connection between their education, the community, and the world around them is absolutely integral to their taking control of their future with pride and with purpose.”
Under the award-winning Junior Achievement program called JA BizTown, students visit a model municipality, where they learn some of the basics of commerce, including earning a paycheck, applying for a loan, paying taxes and looking for a job. The program is underwritten for many Carlsbad schools by the efforts of the Chamber's Partners in Education foundation, as well as other contributors, including Barnhart Construction and The Newcomers' Club.
According to Chamber CEO Ted Owen, Biz Town is a perfect match for the Chamber's educational outreach mission. “Teaching our young people about the ways in which the business community works, how each person contributes to that economic model and what a working commerce has to offer each person in return is a significant part of a well rounded education,” he said. “It's at the heart of why we exist.”
Penny Rantfle, director of Junior Achievement's BizTown for San Diego and Imperial counties recalls that the San Diego BizTown program grew out of the realization that her two school-aged sons were not making the connection between class time and their future. “They were learning all the basics, and understanding them, but they were not putting it all together with what they would need to know in the real world,” she said.
Rantfle's quest to find a program that helped students make that connection lead her to Junior Achievement, which had adopted the BizTown
model from its starting point in the Florida school system.
The real world is what students of BizTown get to know. For one day, they become adults and operate a life-sized mini-municipality complete with a bank, businesses, a snack shop, City Hall, professional offices, radio station, T.V. station and a community charity. They become doctors, construction workers, business managers, real-estate agents, meter readers, philanthropists and accountants. In other words, they have an up-close and personal opportunity to explore the free enterprise system and to enhance their personal economic literacy.
The Carlsbad Chamber's Partners in Education has been involved with BizTown for two years. According to Chamber COO Toni Padron, it costs approximately $25 per student to attend the BizTown program, including teacher training and student transportation. “It's a cost that we share with the district,” she said. “We wanted to help students take advantage of this worthy opportunity to interact with business in a real-world setting.”
The Chamber's Partners in Education Foundation raises funds via programs such as the Outstanding Educational Program awards dinner, the Annual Golf Tournament and various grants. Profits from these programs help underwrite the cost of sending Carlsbad students to BizTown.
“Partners in Education's mission is to provide every Carlsbad fifth-grade student attending school either in Carlsbad Unified School District or the Encinitas Union School District the opportunity to learn the life skills of entrepreneurship, work ethics and readiness, financial literacy, and good citizenship in their communities,” Padron said. “Our Chamber members work hard to make sure this happens.”
Junior Achievement's BizTown introduces students to economics and business through classroom instruction, followed by a daylong hands-on experience where students apply learned concepts in a life-like community. During this one-day experience students run businesses, receive paychecks, open bank accounts, and have the opportunity to become consumers by making purchases from student-run businesses in the Town.
Carlsbad school teachers have embraced BizTown with enthusiasm and excitement. The JA BizTown curriculum addresses the California State Standards with rigor and makes learning relevant for students. “BizTown is an experience that helps make the connection at a critical point in these students' education,” Rantfle said.
Megan Smith, who teaches fifth grade at Pacific Rim Elementary School was part of the pilot program for BizTown. “The majority of my time as a teacher is spent on basic subject matter curriculum. And while all this is extremely important for kids and their futures, sometimes it's hard for them to make the real-world connections,” she said.
“BizTown gives us the opportunity to put away the textbooks and just focus on the real world. BizTown deals with both the business side of things — goods/services, taxes, cash flow, interdependence — as well as the personal side of things — bank accounts, checks, deposit tickets, registers — and the steps required to apply for and get a job.”
Smith especially values the hands-on quality of the BizTown experience. “The kids learn first hand what it takes to work as team, run a quality business, and pay back a bank loan. It's so rewarding as a teacher to see them take on an adult role, dress professionally, and then struggle through all the challenges real employees in the businesses world would face,” Smith said. “The growth that happens in just one day is indescribable. This field trip is the most anticipated day of the school year.”
Owen feels that the Chamber's efforts are well spent on BizTown. “We could not be prouder of our involvement with BizTown,” he said. “Making kids experience the connection between their education, the community, and the world around them is absolutely integral to their taking control of their future with pride and with purpose.”