On Wednesday, May 27, 60 employees of Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (NYSE:BPI), a provider of postsecondary education services, and its two academic institutions, Ashford University and University of the Rockies, spent part of their workday as Junior Achievement volunteers through the organization’s Teacher Enrichment Program.

The event, a scholastic support program facilitated by Junior Achievement of San Diego and Imperial Counties, took place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Valley Elementary School, located in the Poway community of San Diego.  Bridgepoint Education’s employee volunteers were assigned to kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms.  Depending on the size and age level of the students in each class, some classes were given two guest teachers.  The students’ regular teachers also remained in their classrooms for the duration of the event.

A training workshop was held several weeks prior to the event, and all qualified participants were supplied with Junior Achievement program guidebooks to adequately prepare them for their guest-teaching assignments. 

Heidi Reiner, learning and development coordinator for Bridgepoint Education, volunteered in one of Valley Elementary School’s bilingual kindergarten classrooms. “It’s amazing to see how receptive these kids are at such a young age,” Reiner said.  “The lessons were educational and fun and the kids showed a lot of pride in the learning material.  We felt like a million bucks.”

In addition to soliciting the energy and expertise of dozens of employee volunteers, Bridgepoint Education also supported Junior Achievement’s Teacher Enrichment Program with a monetary donation.

Earlier in the month, some 180 employees of Bridgepoint Education, Ashford University and University of the Rockies participated in Junior Achievement’s annual Bowl-a-Thon fundraiser event, held on the afternoon of May 1, at Mira Mesa Lanes bowling alley in San Diego. 

“Our goal this year was to raise more than $4,700 - our total from last year - and to encourage at least 20 teams to participate,” said Michelle Savarese, Bowl-a-Thon event chair and director of Learning and Development for Bridgepoint Education.  “We succeeded!  In all, 37 four-to-five-person teams registered for the event, raising more than $6,500 for Junior Achievement.” 

Both the Teacher Enrichment Program and the Bowl-a-Thon were coordinated as part of an ongoing relationship that’s been in existence for more than two years now between Bridgepoint Education and Junior Achievement. 

Junior Achievement programs are designed to educate and inspire young people (ages 5 to 18) about the value of understanding business, free enterprise and the economy.  The organization’s mission is to bridge the gap between the classroom and the workplace by teaching students to think fiscally, and to set smart educational goals.  For more information, please visit: http://www.jasandiego.org.
 
About Bridgepoint Education
Bridgepoint Education’s postsecondary education services focus on offering associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in the disciplines of business, education, psychology, social sciences and health sciences.  Bridgepoint Education’s regionally accredited academic institutions – Ashford University and University of the Rockies – deliver their programs online as well as at traditional campuses located in Clinton, Iowa, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, respectively. For more information, please visit www.bridgepointeducation.com or contact Shari Rodriguez, director of Public Relations, at 858/668-2580.

About Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement of San Diego and Imperial Counties has been working since 1950 to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.  Bridging education and business, Junior Achievement introduces students to critical career and life skills, providing volunteers with the tools and training to reach K-12 students during the school year.  JA’s vital curriculum comes alive when volunteers – business leaders, community members and parents – lead innovative, hands-on lessons that introduce students to work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy in a way that helps students set goals and be successful in school and life.