In a rapid-fire summary of the programs offered by Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain, Elizabeth Winn, the Senior District Director, gave us a really good feel for the range and depth of economic curricula offered by JA to K–12 classes in the northern Colorado area during our in-person meeting on February 28. In his introduction of Ms Winn, Steve Laine pointed out that the JA programs use community volunteers to build “better kids” through an introduction to a broad range of financial skills and experiences.
JA-Rocky Mountain, headquartered in Denver, includes not only most of Colorado but also all of Wyoming. JA provides more than 20 unique programs focused on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness with grade-appropriate (K-12) lessons and projects that are provided by trained volunteers free-of-charge to schools. JA’s programs provide flexible scheduling for teachers and also meet state education standards. In Poudre School District alone, JA provided over 27,000 instructional hours to approximately 4,700 students in 194 classrooms last year. JA puts considerable effort into providing the “right” volunteers for the age, program, and school for each program so that the volunteers are comfortable with their responsibilities and the program is appropriate for the setting.
JA has two models for delivery. In the traditional model, the program lasts five to seven weeks (depending on grade level) with 30 to 60 minutes per visit. In the “JA In A Day” model, a program lasts all of one day and provides a range of sessions that might be aimed at one class, an entire grade level, or even the whole school. There are six elementary school programs that are grade specific and two programs that cut across demographic groupings. All of the programs equally embrace JA’s three education pillars of financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness. JA’s seven middle school programs become more content specific (e.g., JA Economics for Success, and JA Career Exploration). For high school, JA offers eight multi-session programs and six one-session workshops.
Some of JA’s programs actually have the kids working in teams in an environment that simulates real economic situations. For example, middle school students propose a new product idea and have to figure out how to market it with the best results. Teams present their idea and some of those pitch packets are sent to the company for possible implementation.
Anyone interested in volunteering for JA or for more information about the organization, please visit www.JARockyMountain.org/volunteer/ . You can also contact Elizabeth directly at ewinn@jarockymountain.org .
Questions:
Can anyone volunteer? An emphatic yes and always. They are in the process of rebuilding this aspect of the JA organization after the restrictions of the Covid pandemic, but they are always looking for volunteers.
Is there any evaluation data on students who have passed through some of these programs? This year, student testing will focus on financial literacy for middle school students and career readiness for high school students. For example, post-program assessments for middle school will test proficiency in financial concepts such as earning, saving, taxes, credit cards, debt, investing, etc. In addition to evaluating students, JA surveys educators and volunteers after each classroom experience to assess student engagement and program value. JA does provide long-term data as it pertains to JA alumni. The most recent JA Alumni Impact Study was published in 2022. Highlights include: 68% of alumni between the ages of 18 and 29 report they are financially independent from their parents, compared to 34% of the general population. 88% of alumni say their experience with JA made them think of new career paths. 84% of businesses owned by JA alumni have employees, compared to 20% of U.S. small businesses.
And a couple of reactions from audience members:
Is it possible for Rotary members to take some of these classes?
A show of hands of attendees who had benefitted from some of these programs.