Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Childhood Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Jefferson preschool pilots Junior Achievement BizTown curriculum, reports strong family engagement
Summary
Jefferson Early Childhood Center staff told the board they piloted a Junior Achievement BizTown curriculum adapted for preschoolers, reporting hands-on units, family engagement, and a student vote that chose Riverbend Food Pantry as the class charity.
Jefferson Early Childhood Center staff told the Moline-Coal Valley CUSD 40 board on April 13 that a pilot partnership with Junior Achievement (JA) brought a BizTown-style curriculum to preschoolers and produced strong engagement from students and families.
Teachers said the pilot included six classroom units (family, neighborhood, community helpers, a pet unit and more), in-class JA activities and a field trip to a JA BizTown site that staff modified for preschool learners. "We wanted to pilot their curriculum and have preschoolers be a part of Junior Achievement BizTown," a Jefferson presenter said, describing preparatory classroom activities that taught counting and basic financial concepts with "Jefferson Bucks" and "charity dollars."
Cara Banfield, a Jefferson teacher with a multilingual class, told the board the JA activities aligned well with the school's curriculum and supported communication and community-helpers units. She said the pet unit helped bridge classroom lessons with local partners such as animal shelters and gave students opportunities to practice speaking and role-play.
Gwen Skrvensky, introduced as a para-turned-teacher who supports co-taught and special-education classrooms, described classroom extensions that let students play roles—veterinarian, patient and bus driver—to practice communication and social skills. Presenters noted examples of student learning and social growth: one child practiced introducing himself to a mayor figure during the BizTown visit, and another took time to complete a voting choice with parental support.
Presenters said 52 families registered for the JA BizTown event (39 attended), four partner businesses participated, and students voted to direct the pilot's spare-change charity to Riverbend Food Pantry after narrowing choices during the visit. Staff also used exit surveys and spending data at activity stations to measure student interest; the John Deere construction and farm station ranked highly, the presenters said.
The presenters thanked volunteer and community partners and said the district plans to continue the program next year with refinements to better fit preschool needs.
Board members praised the work in the spotlight presentation and commended staff for adapting JA content for early learners. A volunteer who has taught in the district for many years said he appreciated seeing the program repurposed for preschoolers.
The spotlight concluded with board members and staff noting the program's benefits for early communication, social skills and family engagement and the district's intent to build on the pilot in future years.
