Atlanta businesses help prepare students with real-world skills and confidence through an innovative approach to high school

By: Steve Voorhees, CEO, WestRock. Originally published in Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Our world is faster, more connected and more complex than it’s ever been. Today’s students are part of the first digitally native generation and are poised to enter the most technology dependent economies to date. Businesses will rely on this generation to help them seamlessly transition through new technologies and needs – some of which have yet to be imagined. 

So, why are companies continually concerned about an ever-growing skills gap in the upcoming work force?

Because while we focus so much on technological advancements and its impacts, we begin to overlook the human element. The soft skills – effective communication, a solution-oriented mindset, collaboration – that are just as important than the technical ones. These are competencies businesses need individuals to obtain before they enter the workforce.

With 90 percent of American children in the public education system, it seems that’s exactly where the groundwork should begin. How can we support our schools to effectively provide students with the resources and opportunities to develop these skills so they are primed to excel in careers of today and tomorrow?

Across our country businesses are independently meeting to determine ways they can meaningfully engage in education. And, what I have discovered through WestRock’s most recent involvement in this space, is that schools and school systems are having the same conversations.

As CEO of a Fortune 500 company with strong ties to Atlanta, as well as my longtime commitment to help students  succeed in a global economy, I am confident that a solution is on the horizon and that it’s is being incubated right here in Atlanta.

Developed as joint ventures with school systems, and strategic partnerships with the business community, JA Academy  has the potential to systematically transform high school education. This approach integrates real-world business connectivity into the everyday learning experience to create a highly engaging and relevant learning environment.

Transformation has already begun within various schools. Since 2015, the inaugural JA Academy class of students has demonstrated a dramatic improvement in engagement and, as a result, elevated academic outcomes.

The students at JA Academy are building higher-order transferable skills like communication, collaboration and creativity. The unique JA Academy approach provides students opportunities to discover their strengths and passions, while exploring future possibilities. This was evident when more than 100 freshmen from JA Academy at Norcross High School visited WestRock to present their prospective solutions around communication, culture and employee engagement.

The innovative approach being practiced at the JA Academy can transform our schools and empower students to graduate as the most knowledgeable, skilled and confident generation to enter the workforce.

The first JA Academy class will graduate from Banneker High School in 2019. They will be the first cohort of students with four years of real-world experiences, business backgrounds and an unstoppable drive for success that will have prepared them to take on all the challenges of today’s economy.

The second JA Academy at Norcross High School will graduate its first class in 2020, and the most recent location, JA Academy at Douglass High School will graduate in 2021. Implementation plans to expand the footprint to provide many more graduates from JA Academies will follow closely behind.

We all know that Atlanta is unique – our community is marked by our ability to cross sectors, come together and unite efforts for the common good. And because of what’s taking place right now at the JA Academy, I believe Atlanta will soon have another title to be proud of: The hub for innovation in education. 

AT&T and JA of Georgia collaborate to bring learning beyond the classroom walls

Junior Achievement (JA) of Georgia is bringing important career readiness experiences to students in metro Atlanta as part of AT&T’s signature education initiative AT&T Aspire. More than 50 students from Cedar Grove High School were assigned an AT&T mentor through the JA Job Shadow™ program, which gives students a firsthand glimpse into a professional career.

JA Job Shadow™ begins in the classroom with three sessions to help students learn more about careers, including how to identify a career based on interests, steps in researching potential jobs and developing job-hunting skills like networking and interviewing. The students then will visit an AT&T corporate office to shadow an employee for half a day to see first-hand how education translates to a satisfying and successful career.  

“These type of real-world experiences are the kind that can ignite a passion within a student,” said Jack Harris, President and CEO of JA of Georgia. “Through the AT&T Aspire program, we are giving students the opportunity to be exposed to different paths and to help them realize the endless careers available in their own community.”

During the 2015-2016 school year Junior Achievement and AT&T seek to impact more than 7,000 students nationwide. This could not be achieved without the support of AT&T mentors that are a part of the company’s Aspire Mentoring Academy program. Through Aspire Mentoring Academy, AT&T employees connect with students to help them discover their passions and potential. Aspire Mentoring Academy is part of AT&T Aspire, a signature initiative to promote student success in school and beyond.

“This was my first time mentoring JA students," said Bryan Bigelow, AT&T Employee. "The time spent was very rewarding to not only myself, but as well as the students. It was a pleasure getting to know the students and their aspirations and goals. I looking to doing this again.” 

The collaboration between JA of Georgia and AT&T is a continuation of their joint commitment to providing authentic and relevant experiences that help young people in the community be in control of their future success.

See what students and AT&T mentors who have completed JA Job Shadow™ have to say about the program: http://youtu.be/L3NWazI2_UM.   

About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T

AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its community initiatives, AT&T has a long history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; or address community needs. In 2014, nearly $127 million was contributed or directed through corporate-, employee-, social investment- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs. AT&T Aspire is AT&T’s signature education initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including funding, technology, employee volunteerism, and mentoring.

Cisco supports JA of Georgia’s programs to redesign education

Atlanta, Georgia - Cisco is partnering with Junior Achievement (JA) of Georgia to prepare metro Atlanta students for their future. Specifically, Cisco is providing a grant of $150,000 to support the development and implementation of the program pipeline for the JA Academy and the JA Discovery Centers.

 One of the most notable aspects of Cisco’s partnership with JA of Georgia is their presenting sponsorship at JA BizTown at the JA Discovery Center at Gwinnett. Opened in 2015, JA BizTown presented by Cisco provides an unmatched experience where 6th grade students are able to interact within a simulated economy and take on the challenge of fueling a business. Here, students not only discover the intricacies of being a professional and member of the community, but also discover the abundance of opportunities available within their city.

 The success of the JA Discovery Centers has only grown since their launch, and the impact the experiential simulations have is evident in student engagement and changed perspectives. To continue to elevate its impact, JA of Georgia launched the JA Academy in August 2015.

 “Today’s students are facing an economy based on rapidly changing technologies – many that don’t even exist yet,” said Jack Harris, President and CEO of JA of Georgia. “In order to effectively prepare students for this new reality, their education must be relevant and authentic; it must move past theory and connect them to the complexities of the real world.”

 With support from Cisco and other partners, JA Academy is re-engineering the high school experience to be more relevant, experiential and authentically-connected to life beyond the classroom walls. JA Academy provides four years of high school education through a lens that engages students and prepares them for success. It is integrated learning through dynamic case studies, collaborating with peers, and access to industries to gain exposure and build the skills needed to go as far as one can dream.

The first year at Banneker High School resulted in JA Academy students consistently outperforming their freshman peers, as well as a significant drop in absenteeism compared to the same peer group. The second JA Academy opened at Norcross High School in Gwinnett County in August 2016, and the third is slated to open in August 2017 at B.E.S.T. Academy in Atlanta Public Schools.