JAMT was awarded a mini-grant for its flagship program, where volunteers give classroom presentations to K-12 students in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work readiness. At the time of its application, the weak economy had left JAMT facing the prospect that it would only be able to reach half as many students as it hoped. Fewer volunteers were able to take time off work, and only half of the $7,500 JAMT needed to reach its goal had been obtained.
The mini-grant covered approximately 14% of the total shortfall, and was used to pay for a portion of staff time needed to recruit, train, and place new volunteers. In the end, JAMT was able to provide instruction to fifty classrooms in Park and Gallatin Counties, reaching 1707 students—well over its goal of 1200 students.
Positive feedback from these classes has led to increased demand for JAMT’s presentations, says Executive Director Heide Arneson, who hopes to reach seventy-five classrooms in Bozeman alone in 2011.
Another result from this year’s presentations has been a realization that some high-school teachers need assistance in learning to teach “21st Century skills” like financial literacy. Says Areneson, “Many teachers understand [these] skills on a theoretical level, but not what [they] look like in the real world.” This realization has led JAMT to undertake a job shadowing program for teachers, pairing them with workers in business and other fields to learn more about careers and entrepreneurship, which they can then share with students. Bozeman High School and the teachers’ union in Bozeman are collaborating on the effort.
For further information on JAMT, please visit their website: http://www.jamontana.org/.