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 Global Marketplace®
JA Global Marketplace takes students on a spin around the world. Students learn the products they use every day, like their backpacks and sneakers, might use raw material from one country, be assembled in another, and sold from Peking to Chicago. The program helps students understand how goods flow through various economies and the effect globalization has on their lives. (Grades 6-8)
JA It's My Business!®
JA It's My Business! encourages students to use critical thinking to learn entrepreneurial skills. Those skills include knowing customers' wants and needs, launching effective marketing, and creating detailed business plans. By examining the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, students learn that a belief in one's self can make positive things happen in life. (Grades 6-8)
JA It's My Future®
JA It’s My Future provides practical information about preparing for the working world. Students learn about career clusters, high-growth jobs, career planning, and creating a personal brand. And, through a scavenger hunt, they are introduced to the basic aspects of job hunting. (Grades 6-8)
JA Be Entrepreneurial®
JA Be Entrepreneurial challenges students, through interactive classroom activities, to start their own entrepreneurial venture while still in high school. The program provides useful, practical content to assist teens in the transition from being students to productive, contributing members of society. (Grades 9-12)
JA Company Program Blended Model®
JA Company Program unlocks the innate ability in high school students to fill a need or solve a problem in their community by launching a business venture and unleashing their entrepreneurial spirit. The program focuses on Company Ops, the majority of meeting time, where students build and manage their business. Meeting-specific, student-friendly materials and resources increase student interaction and emphasize JA’s experiential approach to learning. (Grades 9-12)
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 consumer issues, such as saving, investing, and taxation. (Grades 11-12)
JA Personal Finance®
JA Personal Finance explores the fundamental elements of personal finances: earnings, saving and investing, budgeting, credit, risk management, and giving. Students apply these elements to a personal financial plan that allows them to set specific goals for their lifelong financial needs and desired quality of life. (Grades 9-12)
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 Job Shadow™
JA Job Shadow program provides engaging and meaningful work-based learning opportunities for youth in our region to connect to the world of work. In collaboration with industry and education partners we create events for students to learn more about San Diego’s high-priority career sectors, leading industry companies and businesses.
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 Job Shadow®
JA Job Shadow prepares students to be entrepreneurial thinkers in their approach to work. In-class sessions prepare students for a visit to a professional work environment, where they will face a series of challenges administered by their workplace hosts. Students learn how to research career opportunities and the skills needed to land and keep their dream job.
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 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 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.
JA For Everyone - The Scouts Personal Management Badge
The JA for Everyone 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 JA Finance Park budgeting simulation, and a counselor day for Scouts to defend their 90 day budget and financial literacy knowledge.
JA For Everyone - Girl Scouts Financing My Dreams Badge
The JA for Everyone program is a Girl Scout approved program designed to help Girl Scouts achieve the necessary skills and knowledge to obtain their Financing My Dreams Merit Badge. Girl Scouts attend a four hour workshop focused on financial literacy. JA for Everyone is a 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.
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 Business! Blended Model®
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 Blended Model®
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 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 Exploring Economics®
JA Exploring Economics uses hands-on activities to explain complex economic concepts such as supply and demand, inflation, and the production, distribution and consumption of goods. It gives insight into the effect governments and individuals have on the global economy— and on the price of a loaf of bread. (Grades 9-12)
JA Global Marketplace Blended Model®
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 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
