Getting ninth-grade students to think seriously about their futures may sound like a difficult task, but officials with the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education?s Achievement Counts program believe they have been successful in reaching out to students with their annual volunteer speaking program.
“Basically what we?re saying is that we don?t want students to start their adult life behind the eight ball,” said June Steckfus, MBRT?s executive director. “We want them to be work ready, college ready and life ready.
Started as a pilot in 1999, Achievement Counts recruits local Maryland professionals who go into schools to speak about their careers and preparing for life in the real world. In 2003, the program broadened its focus to include a message on what courses students need to be successful in their future careers.
“We encourage them to take high- level math classes while in high schools, and to take more rigorous science courses,” Steckfus said. “But I think the beauty of it is we let each speaker bring their own personal message to the classroom.”
For this year?s program, organizers expect to reach out to nearly 9,400 ninth-graders in Baltimore City and more than 75,000 in Maryland?s counties during the fall semester. Steckfus said she expects speakers to visit about 190 of the state?s 200 high schools. The group is seeking more than 2,000 volunteers. Currently, the organization has signed up 250 speakers.
Cathy Seay, the organization?s deputy director and head of the Maryland Scholars Program, said that the organization provides evaluation forms to each student following a speaking engagement.
According to last year?s results, 96 percent of the students said they were motivated to work harder in school and 84 percent said they would take more rigorous courses.
“The feedback from students is always very positive,” Seay said. “The teachers are grateful to have someone reinforce their messages.”
Nicole Keelty, a senior vice president and partner at Colliers Pinkard, who has spoken at Baltimore City schools for the past four years, said the program is also an important work force development tool.
“I really believe that the students are the backbone of our work force,” Keelty said. “And, it?s fascinating to see how enlightened they are when you start to talk about the real world and what it takes to live in it.”
