What is JA?

JA’s History & Mission To inspire and prepare every young person in our region to succeed in our global economy. JA began in 1919 to inspire students to learn the economics of life through free enterprise education. It is the world’s largest youth development organization dedicated to educating students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.

JA’s Scope of Service Programs for students in Pre-K through 12 th grade Our three offices collectively served over 73,000 students across 32 counties in Western Pennsylvania last school year. Nearly 3,000 volunteers taught JA programs last year

JA’s Scope of Programming & Special Events Elementary & Middle School Curriculum taught in one-day OR over a period of weeks (5-6 lessons, each 45 mins in length) Career Fair for 5 th Graders Curriculum Taught Over a period of weeks ONLY (5-13 lessons, each 45 minutes in length) Many Special Programs/Events: JA Titan JA Company Program JA Leaders in Learning JA Scholarships JA College Day/JA Trades Day JA Job Shadow Day High School

What does JA Programming & Special Events look like?

What do our volunteers actually teach?

The foundation of its K-12 curricula. Included are six sequential themes, each with five hands-on activities, as well as one capstone experience. JA’s Elementary School Programs NEW—Ourselves ® Our Families ® Our Community ® Our City ® Our Region ® NEW—Our Nation ® Fall 2017 – JA BizTown ™

Include economics and business curricula for 6 th, 7th, and 8 th graders, as well as one capstone experience. JA’s Middle School Programs NEW—JA Global Marketplace™ JA Economics for Success ™ JA It’s My Future ™ JA It’s My Business JA Careers in Energy Fall 2017 – JA Finance Park ™

Economic and business curricula for students in grades 9-12 including a student-led enterprise as well as two on-line programs. JA’s High School Programs JA Economics ® JA Exploring Economics ® JA Career Success ® JA TITAN ® JA Job Shadow ® JA Be Entrepreneurial ™ NEW—JA Company Program ® NEW—JA Personal Finance ®

How Much Will This Cost? While we are not pay-to-play…. … On average it costs JA $35 to serve one student. However, we ask schools to consider a donation which is feasible for their budget. …We begin the dialogue on funding by asking schools to consider funding the program materials we provide the classroom volunteers.

How will the cost be covered? Schools School Foundations PTO School Impact Grant (SIG/RSIG) 21 st Century Funding Title I BAT Corporations United Way 630 EITC BAT

Why Do JA?

Tell me first what my peers are saying about JA ….

….about the curriculum It provided students with vital information on careers, budgeting and financial planning…it provided hands-on activities which allowed students to experience different scenarios The students LOVED the buildings that were used to create a city and LOVED playing the Life Game. I think they really got a feeling of doom as they watched their bank account go down and loved watching their balance go up. That was a priceless lesson! Every student was on task, engaged and they loved to work in groups The lessons were varied and provided plenty of opportunity for the student to engage in discussion The students were highly engaged…they were able to get up, move around, work in groups and share ideas about real world topics The students loved the activity where they had to design a product and create an advertisement The JA curriculum itself was wonderful! It was developmentally appropriate while at the same time being challenging.

….about JA Classroom Mentors To hear the message of the importance of education—personally from someone who is in the workforce—amplifies and augments the argument for pushing yourself to achieve as much as possible academically I am always appreciative of anyone who can help us help children attain their dreams I was impressed at how involved the JA Mentors were with the lesson and the kids…some of the kids even asked if they could return to work with them The JA Mentors presented the information in a way my students could understand and reviewed as the day went on. None of my students felt bad if they got something wrong, they just tried harder the next time. The JA Mentors were well prepared and organized as well as very entertaining and personable…they held the students’ interest

….about the program implementation I would love to do this again next year! As a teacher it was easier to just set the day aside rather than working around a weekly visit. In the past I have been involved with JA coming to the school on a weekly basis, but taking an entire day to do the program was much more impacting! It was a very meaningful experience.

I want my JA! What are my next steps? Decide what you type of programming/ special events your particular school needs from JA Decide how you wish to implement JA Assign a JA School Coordinator for your building Fill out a scheduling worksheet and return it to your assigned JA rep (the sooner the better!) Start thinking about sources of volunteers and funding 12345

JA Metro Education Team Amanda J. Laichak, Director of Education Allegheny County Lauren Kunze, Education Program Manager Pittsburgh Public Schools Westmoreland and Butler Counties Rachel Mauer, Special Events Education Program Manager High School Programs and special events across our seven-county footprint Corinne Volosky, Education Program Manager Diocese of Pittsburgh/Private Schools Mon Valley Region Danielle Elliott, Manager of STEM Initiatives JA Careers In Energy (32 Counties) JA WVA (14 counties) Washington, Greene and Beaver Counties

Lauren Kunze: Corinne Volosky: Rachel Mauer: Dani Elliott:

Amanda J. Laichak Director of Education Junior Achievement of Western PA (412) X133 (Office) (412) (Mobile)

Thank You For Helping Our Local Youth Own Their Economic Success!