Junior Achievement of Wisconsin has long provided experiential learning programs to students in the Milwaukee area and across the entire state.
But freshman at two Milwaukee high schools this year are getting the first chance to experience the global nonprofit’s latest effort to prepare students for the world of work.
Dubbed 3DE, the model provides a guided exploration of business case challenges, equipping students with relevant opportunities to apply their knowledge, fostering deep and practical understanding.
“It reengineers education to be more experiential and more relevant to today’s world,” explained Michael Frohna, 3DE education director for Junior Achievement of Wisconsin during a Tuesday press conference unveiling the program.
“Students today will be using a case methodology very popular in colleges and universities to understand key competencies that extend beyond the traditional learning environments. The beauty of 3DE is that it is applicable in every core subject a student will take as a freshman. That’s because the concepts are relevant, such as effective collaboration, strategy, decision making, cultural agility, and so on.”
Originally launched in Atlanta in 2015, the program is being introduced to Wisconsin for the first time. Thanks to seed funding provided by the MPS Foundation, the 3DE model is currently being piloted at Bay View High School and Marshall High School this Fall.
On Tuesday, Junior Achievement of Wisconsin announced that We Energies is providing an additional $250,000 to support the 3DE programming at the two schools.
Real-world skills
So far this year, freshman at Bay View and Marshall high schools have worked on projects with Deloitte, women’s professional association Professional Dimensions, and will soon be working with Educators Credit Union.
Speaking during the Tuesday press conference, Bay View High School freshman Luisangel Claudio explained how his team worked with Deloitte to help determine what nonprofit organization the company should partner with on its impact day.
“Our team decided that the best organization to collaborate with would be the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation. We thought that on their impact day they could come together to fix a basketball court or a park to keep people off the streets …The coaches actually selected my team,” Claudio said. “I learned presentation skills and effective collaboration, which I wasn’t too good at before … I feel like it gives the youth a voice to be heard. Who knows what type of proposals the youth might have for the community?”
On Tuesday, program boosters got a chance to watch as freshman worked with 3DE volunteers with Junior Achievement and Professional Dimensions to help determine whether the association should invest in a mentoring program or a career fair to inspire young women.
Situated around a table and consulting laptops, Claudio and his classmates asked questions about the potential costs of each option, among other things.
Growing with students
Although freshmen at the two schools – about 264 students at Bay View and 150 at Marshall –are the only kids utilizing the program, the plan is to expand programming to include sophomore, juniors, and seniors at the two schools.
“We’re very excited,” said Jeff Gaddis, principal of Bay View High School of 3DE. “Our students have grown this year in skills that they will be able to take with them into the future.”
Willie Jude II, the new executive director of the MPS Foundation said the foundation is excited and thrilled for the promise that 3DE will have in Milwaukee.
“This program takes real-world problems and brings them into the academic arena and empowers our students to find those solutions,” Jude said.
