Lately it seems that the days are beginning to shorten again, which can mean only one thing, back to school is around the corner. Back to school isn’t just for kids, it’s for adults too. It signifies the end of summer and ushers in the harried pace of the latter part of the year. (Yes, Virginia, Christmas is just around the corner.)

Back to school is important to businesses, too. For the Chamber, it’s time for its Partnership with Schools Committee to swing into full action. Lead by local attorney and Chamber board member Paul Neumiller, this small committee made up of business people, school district employees, and military personnel makes a big impact.

Over the last five years, programs such as Ask for Transcripts and Attendance Records, as well as Job Shadow Days, have helped to give high school students a touch of the working world.

Launched this spring, Ask for Transcripts and Attendance Records encouraged local merchants to ask students to show their transcripts and attendance records during the interview process for summer employment. While not the only factor in helping an employer make a hiring decision, students need to be aware that their performance in high school will be considered as they enter into the job market. According to a Washington non-profit organization, Partnership for Learning, 84 percent of high school students said they would try harder if they knew that employers would be looking at their transcripts. That’s powerful.

Another important program the Chamber’s Partnership with Schools Committee hosts is the Junior Achievement program. Junior Achievement is an economics curriculum smartly packaged into a kit. The activities have been developed for each age level from kindergarten through high school. Volunteers from the business community, military service members, parents, and college students deliver the program in classrooms across the nation.

Junior Achievement was piloted in the Oak Harbor School District during the 2002-2003 school year. Since then, over 1,200 students have participated in Junior Achievement in Oak Harbor.

So what do first graders know about economics?  Well, it begins with needs and wants. First graders are encouraged to think about those things that we can’t live without, such as food, shelter and clothing. They are also encouraged to talk about wants: things that we would like to have, but can live without, like toys, pets and even television. Try convincing 25 six year olds that you can live without television. That’s a feat, for sure.

Next the first graders start talking about how we earn the money to buy the things that we need and want. 

By the third grade, students are learning about determining pricing in a business, zoning in a city, and using a personal check register. The great part of it all is that they learn it so quickly.

Programs such as these are developed through high school, including a computer-based game called, Titan, where students develop, market and sell a product; and a middle school program entitled, “The Economics of Staying in School.”

Junior Achievement has done their homework. The program fits the Washington State curriculum requirements, and is developed so well that teachers are inviting volunteers back year after year facilitate Junior Achievement in their classrooms. This opportunity allows volunteers to make the activities come alive and make education relevant for the students, even at a young age. 

The Partnership with Schools Committee’s challenge is convincing business people, military service members, and parents that they are qualified to deliver the program. When you say, “Economics,” most eyes glaze over. The average person has no idea how to teach economics. Junior Achievement takes the mystery out of economics and has structured the program so that the teaching takes place during the activity. Students learn while they are “doing.” No while volunteers are lecturing.

No matter how brilliant the program, it would not be successful without the support of the school district administration and the teachers. With the permission of the Oak Harbor School District, teachers all around Oak Harbor have opened their doors to community volunteers.  Many teachers had never heard of Junior Achievement, but they took a chance, and have really come to enjoy seeing a new face in their classroom. 

So why does the Chamber care about education from elementary school through high school? The answer is simple; today’s students are tomorrow’s employees. The better the education provided, the better the performance received from the future workforce. The investment continues to pay off for generations.

Priscilla Heistad is executive director of the Greater Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce.