Junior Achievement Programs

JA Economics

JA Economics reinforces concepts of micro- and macro- economics by having students explore the basic characteristics of the U.S. economic system, and how economic principles influence business decisions. It also introduces students to career opportunities, consumer issues, and helps reinforce important academic and leadership skills, including: research and data analysis, problem-solving and critical thinking.

What child hasn’t run a lemonade stand? JA Titan takes the lemonade stand to a whole new level - to the online world! Built as a web-based simulation, high school students run a virtual company. Whether that means running it into the ground or to high profits depends on the quarterly business decisions they make about their product price, marketing, R & D, and more. Sink or swim, students walk away understanding critical business practices and the effect management decisions have on a company’s bottom line.

"What do I need to know to find, get, and keep a job?" The answer? JA Success Skills. Students participate in challenging exercises to help them develop personal strategies to achieve lifelong learning pursuits and career opportunities. Team building exercises test their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, as well as their ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. Through engaging activities, they appreciate the importance of personal appearance, professional demeanor, punctuality, and written and oral communication.

How can ethical positive values, life maxims, and decision-making skills help people make career and life decisions? Can people make career choices in terms of their individual noble purpose? How? Through hands-on classroom activities and local, regional, and global essay competitions, JA Careers with a Purpose introduces students to the importance of seeking careers that help them realize their life potential and noble purpose.

Scandals in the business world have eroded public confidence. JA Business Ethics is designed to foster ethical decision-making in students as they prepare to enter the workforce and the global marketplace. Students learn to recognize, analyze, and apply basic terminology, theories, and concepts common to the study of ethics. They explore and analyze their own ethical values and philosophy, establish ethical priorities, recognize key ethical issues, and learn to evaluate their decision-making processes.

This classroom-based program introduces students to the importance of making wise financial choices. Students explore the role that money plays in achieving personal goals throughout life. They develop planning, goal setting, and thoughtful decision-making skills that will help them protect themselves from the unexpected financial pitfalls that plague so many adults.

When students think they’ve learned enough to start their own business, they should! JA Company Program has students put theory to practice by developing their own money-making businesses, from concept to business plan, financing, execution, sales and, ultimately, growth and demise. The experience fosters understanding and appreciation of the personal opportunities and responsibilities each person has in the work-place.

Once it's deposited in a bank, what happens to the money teens earn mowing lawns, slicing pizzas, or baby-sitting? JA Banks in Action de-mystifies finance by explaining how a bank works and having students operate a computer-simulated bank with their classmates. The program covers the history of banking, and introduces students to various career paths in banking.