Arbor Hill Elementary Junior Achievement gets boost

ALBANY, N.Y. (Jan. 26, 2012) -- Thanks to a grant from the National Grid Foundation, the 13 Junior Achievement programs at Arbor Hill Elementary School will continue through the end of the school year.

For first-graders in Joanne Meagher's class, Junior Achievement means a 40-minute session once a week with community volunteer Willie Mae Spencer. There, students learn how jobs provide for a family's needs and wants, how each person contributes to the well-being of a family and the types of jobs each family member has. (In the photo on the right, the class poses with Ms. Spencer, left, National Grid Foundation President Robert Keller, Principal Rosalind Gaines-Harrell and Junior Achievement of Northeastern New York President Ed Murray).

Junior Achievement offers programs for students in kindergarten through grade 12. The programs are grade-specific and designed to teach kids the basics about economics and show them the relevance of education in the workplace.

All Junior Achievement programs are taught by trained volunteers and align with New York state learning standards in social studies, math and English language arts. Junior Achievement provides the programs and materials for free to participating schools; the cost is underwritten by groups like the National Grid Foundation, which donated $5,000 to offset the costs of Arbor Hill Elementary's 13 Junior Achievement programs.

In the City School District of Albany, Junior Achievement programs in place at Albany School of Humanities (ASH), Delaware Community School, Eagle Point Elementary School, Montessori Magnet School, New Scotland Elementary School, Philip Schuyler Achievement Academy, Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology (TOAST), Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School and Albany High School.

The mission of the City School District of Albany is to educate and nurture all students to be responsible citizens, critical thinkers and lifelong learners to successfully compete in the global community by providing an academically rigorous and safe environment in partnership with parents, students and the community. The district serves about 8,700 students in 15 elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood schools, the district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students, including four themed academies at Albany High School.