Junior Achievement is a non-profit organization that provides programs to Elementary, Middle, and High Schools free of charge.  Junior Achievement programs provide students with the opportunity to experience the exciting “World of Work” right in their own classrooms. 

Each year from mid-January through mid-March, we welcome parent and corporate volunteers into our building to present lessons from the Junior Achievement program.  Our goal is to have 100% classroom participation in the program.  The JA curriculum, which is designed to develop a basic understanding of business, economics, and the free enterprise system, includes the following grade-appropriate units:

Kindergarten:

• Ourselves:  This unit uses compelling stories read aloud by the volunteer, with hands-on activities, to demonstrate helping, working, earning, and saving

1st Grade:

• Our Families:  This unit emphasizes the roles people play in the localeconomy and engages students with activities about needs, wants, jobs, tools, skills, and interdependence.

2nd Grade:

• Our Community:  In this unit, students explore the interdependent roles of workers in a community, the work they perform, and how communities work.

3rd Grade:

• Our City:  In this unit, students will study careers, the skills people need to work in specific careers, and how businesses contribute to a city.

4th Grade:

• Our Region:  This unit introduces the relationship between the natural, human, and capital resources found in different regions and explores regional businesses that produce goods and services for consumers.

5th Grade:

• JA Enterprise Village:  This is considered a “capstone” program that introduces students to the free enterprise system through classroom instruction and active participation in a simulated community.  The program teaches students economic concepts and prepares them for their visit to JA Enterprise Village, where they will have the opportunity to put into action the many concepts they have studied. 

Each classroom unit for grades K-4 consists of five 30-45 minute lessons (lesson length depends upon grade level). 

Volunteer presenters include parents, grandparents, college students, business professionals, and retirees.  The curriculum is user-friendly, and training is provided by our Junior Achievement Program Manager.