Success Begins With Junior Achievement . . . Students in grades four to 12 get the tools they need to succeed in a global economy
Perfectly timed with our Small Business Month edition, The Parenting Biz topic introduces parents and youth to a non-profit organization that equips students with the employment and entrepreneurship skills and mindsets they need to succeed.
Originally founded in 1919, Junior Achievement (JA) has grown into one of the world’s largest youth-serving, non-governmental organizations.
JA prepares young people for employment and entrepreneurship by delivering hands-on, experiential learning in world readiness, financial health, and entrepreneurship.
Reaching more than 10 million young people last year, JA is one of few organizations with the scale, experience, and passion to build a brighter future for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, makers, and managers.
Since 1963, schools in southwestern Ontario have relied on Junior Achievement South Western Ontario (JASWO) to prepare young people from grades four to 12 for success in an ever-changing global economy.
Located at 60 William Street South in Chatham (Regional Office) —with a head office in London — JASWO’s staff of 12 (across southwestern Ontario and two locally) serves the areas of Windsor Essex, Chatham Kent, Lambton, Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, Huron, Perth, Bruce, Grey, Wellington, Waterloo, Brant, Hamilton, Haldimand-Norfolk and Niagara.
Over the course of the 2022/23 school year, JASWO alone has effectively reached 21,681 students in 270 schools and 903 classes, with invaluable support from 549 dedicated volunteer partnerships.
Notably, JASWO surpassed a major milestone by raising more than $1 million to sustain its charitable mission to inspire youth and prepare them to succeed in a global economy.
This financial achievement underscores the community’s recognition of the organization’s role in equipping students with practical skills for their future careers and financial well-being.
“Education is a pathway to breaking the cycle of poverty,” comments Karen Gallant, President and CEO of JASWO. “This organization is dedicated to providing students with the tools they need, such as financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills, to create better opportunities for themselves.”
Junior Achievemnet’s learning experiences involve a wide variety of activities for youth.
“Our programs focus on three pillars: financial health, work readiness and entrepreneurship — giving students in grades four to 12 the tools they need for their futures,” indicates Jenne Wason, Director of Marketing and Communications for JASWO. “We have recently added online programming in both Teacher-Led and Student Self-Directed models.”
JA offers several one-day in-school financial literacy programs, facilitated for elementary and high school students by community volunteers in partnership with classroom teachers.
The JA Company Program is a unique experience for those in grades nine to 12 in which teams of 15 high school students work together to plan, launch and manage a real small business over a period of 18 weeks.
Participants meet for one evening per week for three hours and develop a deep understanding of business and critical skills in teamwork and leadership.
Working with corporate partners, volunteers and teachers, JASWO create important connections to the workforce and prepare youth for the jobs of tomorrow.
“JA programs introduce young learners to financial health, work readiness and entrepreneurship and are available at no cost to teachers, students or parents,” Wason says. “Our programs support the curriculum and help students build on skills they learn in the classroom.”
Some of the other programs offered include . . .
- More Than Money, where grade four students learn about earning, spending, sharing and saving money.
- Our Business World, where grade five students explore how businesses are created and what makes them thrive.
- A Business Of Our Own, where grade six students learn how to start a business, produce and promote their products, track their finances, and manage a team.
- Dollars With Sense, where grade seven students get the vital tools they need to make smart financial decisions, live debt-free and become savvy investors.
- Economics For Success, where grade eight students learn what’s needed to succeed in today’s workforce and think about life after high school.
- Personal Finance,where grades nine to 12 students gain personal money management skills including spending wisely, budgeting, saving, investing, and using credit.
- Investment Strategies, where grades nine to 12 students learn how to save and invest for the future. With an online stock market simulation, students manage their own simulated stock portfolio.
- World of Choices, where grades seven to 12 students come together with career mentors to explore different career paths.
Programs come in a variety of options including Teacher-Led (access to print and/or digital resources to create impactful learning experiences in the classroom or online); Volunteer-Led (offered for select programs and dependent on volunteer availability as JA volunteers visit the classroom and lead the program) and Student Self-Directed (Online courses that help students learn key skills independently. There is an option for teachers to track student progress).
These are suitable for in-person and/or virtual learning.
“Poverty, homelessness and food insecurity are increasingly common societal issues,” Wason points out. “These complex issues require solutions that address the root cause. JA’s proactive programs are one component of the solution — they combat low high school completion rates, encourage greater post-secondary education pursuits and result in small business creation; the development of improved financial literacy acumen in our youth is imperative to reducing poverty, homelessness, and pressure on our government social support systems in the future.”
According to an independent study, conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, 65% of achievers stated that Junior Achievement has had a significant impact on their decisions to stay in school and enroll in post-secondary education.
