What role does a third grader play in the life of a city? On Friday, April 9, approximately 360 students took on several roles as they discovered how builders, business owners, reporters and others contribute to the life of a city, where people live, work, play and go to school.
To bring the Junior Achievement’s “Our City” program to schoolchildren, Pinellas County Commission Chair Karen Williams Seel – a Junior Achievement board member – challenged elected officials and community leaders to join her in the first annual Junior Achievement “Our City” Day.
In response to Seel’s “Our City / Pinellas County Challenge,” nearly 40 elected officials and community leaders led 18 third grade classes in the four-hour event. With two to each team, the leaders involved the third graders in activities that examined the role of builders, restaurant owners and newspapers. They learned the importance of civic planning to a city’s economic development. They role played simple financial transactions and learned why banks are an important part of a city.
“The Junior Achievement ‘Our City’ program studies careers, the skills people need to work in specific careers and how businesses contribute to a city,” said Seel. “This program is tailored for our elected officials and their staff to participate and educate our young people on our collective role.”
The three schools chosen to participate in this program were Sexton Elementary School in St. Petersburg, Mildred Helms Elementary School in Largo and Skycrest Elementary in Clearwater.
