JA Programs
Learn more about Kindergarten - 12th grade plans!
Junior Achievement Programs
Junior Achievement's unique delivery system provides the training, materials, and support necessary to bolster the chances for student success. The impact is measurable, too. Students who participate in Junior Achievement programs demonstrate a significant understanding of economics and business concepts. We invite you to take a closer look at our programs!Our programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities.
JA Ourselves®
JA Ourselves uses storybook characters in read-aloud and hands-on activities to introduce the role people play in an economy. Through engaging, volunteer-led activities, young students learn about individual choices, money, the importance of saving and giving, and the value of work. (Kindergarten)
JA Our Families®
JA Our Families explains how family members' jobs and businesses contribute to the well-being of the family and of the community. The program introduces the concept of needs and wants and explores the ways families plan for and acquire goods and services. Students analyze their own skills to determine ways they can support their families. (Grade 1)
JA Our Community®
JA Our Community uses posters and games to offer practical information about businesses and the many jobs those businesses offer in a community. Students explore production methods through a simulation game, and they learn about taxes, decision making, and how money flows in an economy. (Grade 2)
JA Our City®
JA Our City featuring Cha-Ching introduces students to financial literacy and learning objectives for third–grade social studies, including how people manage their money and the importance of economic exchange within a city.
JA Our Region®
JA Our Region introduces students to entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurs use resources to produce goods and services in a region. Students operate a hypothetical hot dog stand to understand the fundamental tasks performed by a business owner and to track the revenue and expenses of a business. (Grade 4)
JA Our Nation®
JA Our Nation provides practical information about the need for employees who can meet the demands of the 21st century job market, particularly high-growth, high-demand jobs. By program's end, students will understand the skills, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math, that will make their futures brighter. (Grade 5)
JA More Than Money®
JA More than Money introduces students to financial literacy and entrepreneurship, and to social studies learning objectives that include money-management skills, goods and services, and global markets. Through hands-on activities and a JA cast of characters serving as symbols for financial literacy and entrepreneurship concepts, students will learn a practical approach to starting a business and making smart decisions about managing money. (Grades 3-5)
The McGrath Family JA BizTown®
JA BizTown combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to a simulated town. This popular program allows elementary school students to operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks, and vote for mayor. The program helps students connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world.
JA Economics for Success®
JA Economics for Success gives students the information needed to build strong personal finances, a cornerstone to a happy, secure life. Students learn the importance of exploring career options based on their skills, interests, and values. They also learn about spending money within a budget; saving and investing wisely; and using credit cautiously. (Grades 6-8)
JA It's My Business!®
Through engaging activities, JA It’s My Business! Blended Model provides middle school students an opportunity to experience the initial steps necessary to start a business. New program content provides an authentic entrepreneurial experience for students, with each session building up to a product-pitch competition. (Grades 6-8)
JA It's My Future®
JA It’s My Future Blended Model offers middle school students practical information to help prepare them for the working world. Students will develop the personal-branding and job-hunting skills needed to earn a job. (Grades 6-8)
JA Global Marketplace®
JA Global Marketplace Blended Model introduces students to the global marketplace and the ways in which countries buy and sell from each other. Through completion of this program, students will gain an understanding of producers and consumers in the interconnected global market. (Grades 6-8)
JA Virtual Academies
JA San Diego is now offering Virtual Academy Programs for 3rd-8th graders! Each program is based on JA’s three pillars: Work and Career Readiness, Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy.
JA Virtual Opportunities
Given the extraordinary circumstances accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic and the immediate need to address the economic inequity in our communities, we have transformed our traditional In-Class programs to virtual programs so that we can still enable students throughout San Diego to find their future success. Our virtual programs include interactive learning and engagement with JA staff, volunteers and mentors from the SD business community and are available for parents/families and educators.
Mission Fed JA Finance Park Blended Model™
Mission Fed JA Finance Park is a paperless, high-tech learning center that helps students imagine their future through participation in a budgeting simulation. Our program helps thousands of San Diego teens, young adults and families learn how to make intelligent financial decisions that will last a lifetime. The traditional, blended, and PBL programs includes in-class curriculum and a one day capstone experience at Mission fed JA Finance Park. JA Finance Park helps students imagine who they want to be and gives them hands-on tools and skills to plan for a financially secure future.
JA For Everyone
JA for Everyone is a 4-hour personal budgeting simulation designed to help participants understand the link between lifestyle, education, career, and the management of personal finances in an interactive environment. JA for Everyone at JA Finance Park encourages participants to explore what it takes to balance a budget and manage a life in sunny San Diego and beyond. Participants must be 12 years or older. All sessions take place from 9:00am-1:00pm. Due to high demand, no refunds or rescheduling are permitted. Dates with low enrollment will be given refund or reschedule options if necessary.
The Boy Scouts Personal Management Merit Badge
The JA Personal Management Merit Badge workshop series is a Scout approved program designed to help Scouts achieve the necessary skills and knowledge to obtain their Personal Management Merit Badge. Scouts attend three workshop sessions over a 90+ day time frame to complete all the required documentation, application, and citation for completion of the Personal Management Merit Badge requirements. The program includes classroom style instruction, the Mission Fed JA Finance Park budgeting simulation, and a counselor day for Scouts to defend their 90 day budget and financial literacy knowledge.
Girl Scouts of San Diego Badge Workshops
In partnership with Girl Scouts of San Diego, we offer the following badge workshops in entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work-readiness. Please visit the "Girl Scouts of San Diego Badge Workshops" tab to the left for information on each badge workshop and other program details.
JA Company Program®
JA Company Program empowers high school students to fill a need or solve a problem in their community and teaches them practical skills required to conceptualize, capitalize, and manage their own business venture. (Grades 9-12)
JA Be Entrepreneurial® (Creative Problem Solving)
JA Be Entrepreneurial is a reimagined, modular program that teaches students about the mindset and the skills needed for success by aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators who add value to any organization. In JA Creative Problem Solving, students learn and apply design thinking, an innovative process for problem solving used by entrepreneurs (and intrapreneurs) to brainstorm customer-centric ideas. (Grades 9-12)
JA Be Entrepreneurial® (Rapid Business Planning)
JA Be Entrepreneurial is a reimagined, modular program that teaches students about the mindset and the skills needed for success by aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators who add value to any organization. In JA Rapid Business Planning, students learn about the Lean Model Canvas, the strategic management template for developing business models. (Grades 9-12)
JA Be Entrepreneurial® (Think Like an Entrepreneur)
JA Be Entrepreneurial is a reimagined, modular program that teaches students about the mindset and the skills needed for success by aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators who add value to any organization. In JA Think Like an Entrepreneur, students develop a mindset that enables opportunity identification, innovation, value creation, and problem solving. (Grades 9-12)
JA Job Shadow® Blended Model
JA Job Shadow Blended Model is a comprehensive experience that helps students design an individualized career path. Supporting blended as well as self-guided activities, JA Job Shadow provides a design-thinking structure for career exploration. (Grades 9-12)
JA Titan® Blended Model
JA Titan Blended Model is a simulation-based program in which high school students compete as business CEOs in the phone industry, experiencing firsthand how an organization evaluates alternatives, makes decisions, analyzes the outcomes of those decisions, and then strategizes what to do next. (Grades 9-12)
JA Personal Finance® Blended Model
JA Personal Finance Blended Model allows students to experience the interrelationship between today’s financial decisions and future financial freedom. To achieve financial health and wellness, they learn about money-management strategies, including earning, employment and income, budgeting, savings, credit and debt, consumer protection, smart shopping, risk management, and investing. (Grades 9-12)
JA It's My Job™ (Soft Skills)
JA It's My Job (Soft Skills) will help students understand the value of professional communication and soft skills, making them more employable to future employers across multiple career clusters. (Grades 6-12)
JA Career Success®
JA Career Success equips students with the knowledge required to get and keep a job in high-growth industries. Students will explore the crucial workplace skills employers seek but often find lacking in young employees. Students also will learn about valuable tools to find that perfect job, including resumes, cover letters, and interviewing techniques. (Grades 9-12)
JA Career Speakers Series™
In JA Career Speakers Series, a volunteer guest speaker visits the classroom and shares information about his or her career, work, and education experience. (Grades K-12)
JA Launch Lesson™
JA Launch Lesson is a point-of-entry program delivered by community entrepreneurs. Students gain firsthand knowledge about starting a business and the entrepreneurial journey. (Grades 9-12)
JA Financial Literacy™
JA Financial Literacy is a one-semester teacher-led course that equips high school students with foundational personal finance skills.(Grades 9-12)
JA Financial Capability™ 1
JA Financial Capability 1 is a one-semester teacher-led course in which high school students examine financial capabilities from a business perspective, focusing on banking, economics, business planning, and risk management. (Grades 9-12)
JA Financial Capability™ 2
JA Financial Capability 2 is a one-semester teacher-led course in which high school students examine financial capabilities from a business perspective, focusing on employee benefits, ethics, business investment, and international business operations. (Grades 9-12)
JA Economics® Blended Model
JA Economics Blended is a one-semester course that connects high school students to the economic principles that influence their daily lives as well as their futures. (Grades 11-12)
Stock Market Challenge
Using state-of-the-art technology in a simulated trading environment, high schools students, college students and adults will experience the fast-paced, high-stakes thrill of the stock exchange. Each team begins with $500,000 in fictitious funds and interacts with on-site traders to buy and sell shares in 26 companies with the goal of building the highest-net worth portfolio by the end of the trading period. All money raised for the event will support JA's life-changing programs.
JA Take Stock in Your Future™
Through JA Take Stock in Your Future, students discover the benefits and challenges of investing in the stock market as part of a broader, long-term investment strategy and the risks and rewards of trading.
JA Entrepreneurial Mindset™
JA Entrepreneurial Mindset is a one-semester teacher-led course that introduces high school students to the basics of starting a business. (Grades 9-12)
JA Introduction to Business and Technology™ 1
JA Introduction to Business and Technology 1 is a one-semester teacher-led course that introduces high school students to the basic skills necessary to succeed in business. Themes include teamwork, innovation, decision making, and ethics. (Grades 9-12)
JA Introduction to Business and Technology™ 2
JA Introduction to Business and Technology 2 is a one-semester teacher-led course that introduces high school students to the basic skills necessary to succeed in business. Themes include personal skills like innovation, management functions, and accounting. (Grades 9-12)
JA Business Communications™
JA Business Communications is a one-semester teacher-led course that equips high school students to focus on communication skills necessary to succeed in business. (Grades 9-12)
JA Marketing Principles™ 1
JA Marketing Principles 1 is a one-semester teacher-led course that introduces high school students to marketing and some basic marketing techniques. (Grades 9-12)
JA Marketing Principles™ 2
In JA Marketing Principles 2, a one-semester teacher-led course, high school students learn about marketing in the world around them and potential careers in the field. (Grades 9-12)
JA Excellence through Ethics™
Through JA Excellence through Ethics, students will learn the importance of ethics and ethical decision-making and how ethical and unethical choices affect everyone in a community. (Grades 6-12)
JA Camps™
San Diego offers several “camp” opportunities during the year. JA camps utilize Junior Achievement national, regional, and locally developed curriculum. JA Camps focus on one or more of the JA pillars of focus: Entrepreneurship, Workforce Preparedness, and Financial Literacy.
JA Correlates To State Standards!
Junior Achievement programs correlate to various national, state, and district educational standards. See how by clicking below!
JA Correlation StandardsSee the Results!
Survey results prove that JA is preparing students to develop successful financial management habits, empowering them to explore the potential of becoming an entrepreneur, and providing them the skills necessary to succeed in a global economy.
JA Programs Evaluation ResultsJA Programs Scope and Sequence
Learn more about the concepts and skills of JA Programs.
JA Scope and SequenceMore Awesome Learning Opportunities!
JA programs supplements provide students with additional information and engaging learning opportunities.
JA Program Supplements
