Reinventing JA Programs for a Virtual World
This has been a challenging year for parents, teachers, students and our community. Junior Achievement is stepping up as the new school year begins to provide meaningful educational experiences that excite and inspire students. Our virtual programs will relieve some of the burden on teachers and parents who are in need of reliable, relevant and quality educational content for a socially-distanced or virtual classroom.
While we are unable to deliver JA programs in person this fall, we have reworked every single JA program, and we have even added some new programming to leverage this new virtual environment, with interactive game-based simulations that teach students about investing, budgeting and so much more.
JA BizTown Adventures
JA Online Adventures for JA BizTown is a culminating experience for students that follows the JA BizTown curriculum. Fourth- through sixth-grade students gain an understanding of various aspects of running a business as they take on the roles of chief executive officer, chief financial officer, marketing director, sales manager, and consumer via five online, self-guided adventures.
Using a branching, story-driven format, each adventure provides students with an opportunity to practice problem solving, decision making, critical thinking and analytical thinking, as well as weighing saving and spending choices, considering risk management and insurance strategies, and making personal and business-related financial decisions.
JA Finance Park Virtual
A newly updated game-based virtual simulation version of JA Finance Park allows middle school students to become adults for the day, learning how to budget for expenses like mortgage loans, insurance, childcare, transportation, utilities and more. Additionally, a brand new advanced-level version of JA Finance Park has been released for high school students, allowing them to explore careers and salary levels, and simulate their savings and expenditures over a lifetime up to retirement. Watch the video below to learn more.
JA Inspire Virtual
More than a career fair, JA Inspire Virtual brings the business community and local schools together to help launch students into their futures. At the center of our work is a powerful, virtual career exploration event. Students will begin their exploration with mostly abstract notions of future career options and will end up focused and activated, with real insights on what industries interest them, what specific jobs are like, and what education is required to do them successfully. Event details will be announced later this year.
K-12 Virtual Programs
Junior Achievement provides work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy curriculum to students from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Typically in the format of interactive classroom lessons, JA K-12 In-Class Programs have been adapted for online delivery. Students will not be able to work closely together in groups, so we have updated our programs to reflect this reality. This school year, Junior Achievement will continue to offer lesson plans that can be delivered by teachers or virtual volunteers in an online format.
Downloadable Content for Families
Now children of all ages and their parents can access short lessons and activities immediately on-demand. Find these resources here.
Many educators have expressed appreciation and excitement for our innovative approach to the online adaptations we are providing during these challenging times. As our school district partners return to educating their students, JA of Oregon and SW Washington is doing what we can to support them.
While we look forward to the day when we can return to delivering JA programs in-person, many of these new adaptations will enable us to reach a greater number of students of color, students in low-income communities, and students in rural parts of Oregon and SW Washington.