Junior Achievement

Work Readiness • Entrepreneurship • Financial Literacy

Empower The Youth

How do you empower Elkhart County’s youth to take ownership of their future? You teach them how to be ready for the workplace; show them the possibilities as an entrepreneur and teach them how to manage their money. For more than five decades, Junior Achievement has made its presence known in the Elkhart area.

Every JA student learns how to bridge the gap between what is taught in the classroom and their future. This is crucial to their success. Each of JA’s programs is in line with the values of local business. Whether it’s teaching hard work, developing a skill set or freeing the entrepreneurial spirit, JA’s curriculum brings it all to the table.

Junior Achievement’s Mission

To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.

Junior Achievement empowers young people to own their future economic success by enhancing the relevancy of education. At every grade level JA programs expose students to basic business concepts and the skills that enable them to understand real-life economics. With this knowledge, they build an understanding regarding economic choices and the resulting consequences of each decision. This prepares them for economically independent futures based on strong economic knowledge and solid personal financial management skills.

Stories From The Classroom

  • “My class had a wonderful time with Ms. Daly. She did a great job of keeping the kids engaged throughout the day. They especially enjoyed the career cluster activity.”
  • “Students were very engaged during activities where they were allowed to move around the room. My class is very loud, Ms. Alba did a good job keeping everyone involved in the lesson discussions before each activity. She had mentioned something about this grade level being new to her, but she did a great job with my class.”
  • “I saw they(the students) really began to understand and show a creative interest in all aspects of each session. Working in groups had all the students participating due to them having their peers’ excitement exciting students who normally do not contribute in a group setting.”
  • “A lot of the students were really confused at the first about how depositing and withdrawing money works, but once they played the bank account game the volunteer brought, they totally understood.”

Students operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks, use debit cards, and vote for a mayor. They connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world.

Students act as adults and make personal financial decisions in a realistic facility, mobile unit, or virtual community. They develop lifelong financial skills through in-class and simulated experiences.

Traditional Programs

Elementary School
  • JA Ourselves
  • JA Our Families
  • JA Our Community
  • JA Our City
  • JA Our Region
  • JA Our Nation
  • JA In A Day
Middle School
  • JA Economics for Success
  • JA Global Marketplace – Blended Model
High School
  • JA Be Entrepreneurial
  • JA Career Success
  • JA Economics
  • JA Exploring Economics
  • JA Personal Finance – Blended Model
  • JA Titan

Calling All Educators
& Coordinators!

Educators & coordinators invite JA/LD into their classrooms because volunteers and materials support an exciting learning environment that gives students a real-world perspective. Program content aligns with curriculum standards to help students achieve teachers’ learning objectives.

Enter your contact and schedule information here!

Download the appropriate schedule form, complete, and upload.

Elementary School Teacher Schedule Form
Middle School Teacher Schedule Form

Filling The Gap

We understand that meeting state standards is a challenge.

We also understand the desire for educators to prepare students for the challenges they face in the real-world.

To support your work in the classroom, Junior Achievement has created a variety of supplemental teaching materials, tools, and tips to support economic education, workforce readiness, and personal financial literacy activities. We train our volunteers to work with you, proper classroom etiquette, and prepare them how to engage students.

Correlations to State Standards

Capstone Program Sign-up

Other Resources

Become A Volunteer

Volunteers make school relevant and fun, teaching students to become contributing, successful members of their communities. As volunteers share their real-world experiences and present JA/LD materials, it helps kids bridge the gap between what they learn in school and what they can expect in the real work of work.

Volunteer Signup

Let us know your interest in volunteering for Junior Achievement.

Volunteer Interest Form