Children learn about financial literacy through Junior Achievement programs at Wawasee.

By VICKY DECKER
Development Manager, Junior Achievement

Imagine hundreds of community men and women volunteering with Junior Achievement in classrooms across Kosciusko County. As they share their time and experience, they are helping kindergarten through high school youth understand economics, build workplace skills, and experience personal financial realities.

In response to educator requests, JA expects to reach more than 1,700 youth this year in Wawasee schools. In partnership with these educators and community volunteers, students learn about everything from local businesses and jobs to entrepreneurial opportunities and their future for economic success.

The hands on financial literacy experiences include:

• JA elementary economics, introducing core business and economic concepts to students through fifth grade.
• JA BizTown, building fifth and sixth grade understanding of successful work and career options in an active economy.
• Middle School programs, enabling workplace and financial skills and aptitudes development through exploration of business and economics.
• JA Finance Park, guiding middle and high school students in developing personal finance literacy and money management skills.
• High School programs, sharing the fundamentals of micro, macro and international economics and building practical entrepreneurial thinking and workplace interpersonal effectiveness.

“At every grade level, JA activities put the game of life into serious context for kids by helping them connect the dots between what they learn in school and how financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship, the economics of life, play out in the real world,” says Missy Sorensen, board chair, Junior Achievement serving Wawasee. “As they discover the consequences of economic decisions, they build the financial knowledge and skills that will empower their future economic success.”