Utah’s state treasurer and the CEO of the Utah Association of CPAs recently wrote about Utahns’ debt problem and ways to address it. In their article they offer ideas for increasing financial education, including a women’s conference and a statewide investment challenge for current students.  

Other educational resources that already exist include Junior Achievement. It is a nonprofit that aims to help elementary and secondary students learn principles of finance, economics and entrepreneurship. 

They offer a range of classes and host experiential events like Junior Achievement City, where students can live out their knowledge for a day by staffing storefronts, voting on elected officials, and earning (and spending) money. Their offerings are available to traditional classrooms and home-school students. 

To learn more, we reached out to the president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Utah and Idaho, Christy Tribe. 

Sutherland Institute: What is Junior Achievement, and what is its purpose?

Junior Achievement: Junior Achievement (JA) is the world’s largest and fastest growing school-to-business organization. It is dedicated to giving students from K-12 the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.   

Our mission is to empower young people to discover their purpose. By building a wide range of skills nurturing self-belief through volunteers serving as mentors, JA prepares young people for the future of work. It teaches them how to think entrepreneurially, and ensures they have the tools to be financially capable adults.   

Sutherland Institute: What are the different programs available and ways that students can access JA’s content (classroom, virtual, etc.)?  

Junior Achievement: JA 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 community through meaningful lessons delivered by volunteers.

Our hands-on activities help students understand why they are learning what they’re learning in school. Both in the classroom and through our experiential learning site, called JA City, JA’s programs give students a head start on their futures with critical skills they can only learn by doing. JA programs help students discover their potential by providing them with tangible opportunities to show us what they are made of so they can become tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and entrepreneurs. Our JA Programs can be accessed through online resources, self-guided activities, and virtual simulations that are accessible anywhere. 

JA’s unique approach allows parents, educators, and business volunteers from the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their experiences with students. Embodying the heart of JA, our 6,000 classroom volunteers transform the key concepts of our lessons into a message that inspires and empowers students.

In a recent JA alumni study, 56% of our alumni report they have worked or are currently working in the same field as one of their JA volunteers. Our programs are available for free to educators, parents and students.

Sutherland Institute: How might a home-schooling parent or microschooling parent access and/or use JA’s materials in their type of schooling?  

Junior Achievement: JA of Utah is part of a national network of offices that delivers curriculum to over 100 locations nationwide. Classroom lessons and activities can be duplicated in any school or home school willing to host the program. We also welcome home-school groups to attend JA City and to be immersed in the experiential learning experience of JA BizTown. 

We have some programs available on the website, JA Programs | Junior Achievement USA, but the best way to bring Junior Achievement to your school or home school is to contact our vice president of education, Brittney Palmer, at brittney@ja-utah.org.  

Sutherland Institute: Why might parents or students want to use JA; what goal or interest might they be trying to achieve in their educational path?

Junior Achievement: JA’s programs and approach are designed to help our youth help themselves, and through the examples and inspiration of mentors, visualize their own future prosperity to positively impact their lives and those of their families.

Through early intervention and age-appropriate materials that are delivered by a caring adult in the classroom, our young people can build on their knowledge and create a stable foundation for their future.

Sutherland Institute: What have the outcomes been for JA’s program so far?  

Junior Achievement: Findings prove that the long-term effect of JA has a positive impact in a number of critical areas such as graduation rates, career readiness, financial responsibility and entrepreneurial success. JA of Utah’s outcomes are evaluated on a national level with our colleague offices around the nation by an independent third-party institution. This research shows that JA alumni have higher education attainment and median household income than the general U.S. population. When asked to consider their household financial situation growing up compared to now, there is a notable shift from lower income to middle and upper income.   

A recent study indicates that among JA alumni, 84% stated JA positively impacted their decision to pursue higher education; 88% say it made them think of new work opportunities or career paths; 73% who graduated from college say they work in a field they studied in college; 84% report being financially independent from their parents; and 73% report they are saving for retirement. 

Conclusion 

In addition to students in the traditional classroom, home-schooling parents should feel encouraged that there are resources available to give their children a well-rounded education like financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills. In fact, for parents who prefer the nontraditional classroom experience for learning. the opportunity to use Junior Achievement’s materials for a microschool or home schooling may be a good fit.