CONTACT
Beth KM Tomscak
Junior Achievement of Wisconsin-Dane County
608.354.6798
btomscak@jawis.org
Job Shadowing event includes meeting at State Capitol with Rep. Parisi
MADISON, Wis., November 18, 2009 — Today local high school students learned first hand about the workings of state government from state legislator Rep. Joe Parisi as part of a day-long Junior Achievement (JA) job shadowing event. Rep. Parisi met with more than 25 students from LaFollette High School and Middleton Alternative High School at the State Capitol and spoke with them about his work in the Wisconsin State Legislature and the importance of doing well in school.
“With 1.2 million students in the U.S. dropping out of school every year, it’s more important than ever that we instill in our young people the value of receiving a quality education,” said David Locke, Chairman & CEO McFarland State Bank and Chairman of Junior Achievement in Dane County. “We are especially grateful to Rep. Parisi for not only taking the time to meet with these students today, but for being a champion for our state’s young people 365 days a year.”
Today’s event is part of a multimillion dollar, multiyear job shadow program to help strengthen student success and workforce readiness. In addition to their visit to the State Capitol, local students also spent time at AT&T’s Madison offices shadowing employees during their regular work day to see firsthand the educational background and skills they will need to succeed on the job. This is the second year the AT&T/JA Job Shadow Initiative has been held in Madison.
Recent findings from a report evaluating students who participated in the first year of the AT&T / JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative show the program is making an impact and changing attitudes about staying in school:
* All students felt that it is important to graduate from high school, and ninety-nine percent felt confident in their ability to do so months after participating in the program.
* Eighty-nine percent of students felt that participating in Job Shadow made them realize the importance of staying in school.
* Ninety-four percent indicated that they had improved their ability to set goals as a result of Job Shadow and 90 percent reported that they utilized this skill months after the program.
* Ninety-four percent agreed that their ability to identify occupations that interest them had improved as a result of Job Shadow and ninety-two percent had researched careers that interest them months after the program.
Jack E. Kosakowski, president of Junior Achievement USA, noted, “Job shadowing not only provides students with valuable firsthand workplace experience, it provides them with mentoring and role models. These experiences help prepare our young people to effectively compete with their peers from the U.S. and around the world as the global economy becomes increasingly interdependent and interconnected.”
Many of the students dropping out of high school are dropping out despite the fact they have passing grades. They simply don’t see the relevance of their school work today to their future life success.
The initiative is committed to reaching 100,000 high school students over 5 years. During the 2008-2009 school year, over 13,000 students in over 100 cities participated in the initiative.
About Junior Achievement® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 139 individual area operations reach approximately four million students in the United States, with more than 3.5 million students served by operations in 100 countries worldwide. Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, Inc. – Dane County serves nearly 8,000 students with the help of almost 400 volunteers and 350 teachers. For more information, visit http://www.ja.org or call 608-354-6798 or email btomscak@jawis.org.
