Junior Achievement Of Arizona

TO PREPARE ARIZONA YOUTH TO SUCCEED IN WORK AND LIFE BY GIVING THEM THE SKILLS TO THINK CRITICALLY, MANAGE THEIR MONEY, THRIVE IN THEIR CAREERS, AND PURSUE ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

K12 CLASSROOM PROGRAMS: DESPITE SIGNIFICANT DISRUPTION IN EDUCATION AND LIFE, JAAZ EMPOWERED 80,033 STUDENTS, K-12, IN CLASSROOMS IN 192 SCHOOLS TO OWN THEIR FUTURE SUCCESS. OUR HANDS-ON, AGE-APPROPRIATE PROGRAMS WERE DELIVERED VIRTUALLY BY 1,304 UNIQUE CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER MENTORS. VOLUNTEERS DONATED $932,915 IN TIME TO DELIVER OUR IN-CLASSROOM PROGRAMS. THIS VOLUNTEER DONATION IS NOT REFLECTED IN THE EXPENSES OF PART IX BUT IS NOTED HERE TO REFLECT THE EFFICIENCIES GAINED THROUGH OUR VOLUNTEER DELIVERY MODEL. INCLUDING THE VALUE OF ALL PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS IN OUR EXPENSES INCREASES OUR PROGRAM EXPENSE RATIO TO 92% REFLECTING THE EFFICIENCY GAINED BY LEVERAGING THE EXPERTISE OF THESE VOLUNTEERS. THESE PROGRAMS GIVE STUDENTS IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AROUND FINANCIAL LITERACY, WORK READINESS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND PREPARING THEM TO THINK CRITICALLY. OUR SURVEY SHOWS THAT 98% OF EDUCATORS WOULD RECOMMEND THE PROGRAMS TO FELLOW EDUCATORS. FURTHERMORE, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO RECEIVE JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAMS DEMONSTRATE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER (35% HIGHER) CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS THAN THEIR COUNTERPARTS.

JA BIZTOWN PROGRAM: JAAZ'S JA BIZTOWN IS AN EXPERIENTIAL PROGRAM THAT REQUIRES 4-6TH GRADE STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN 14-20 HOURS OF CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION WHERE THEY WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE BUSINESS PLANS, CALCULATE OPERATING COSTS, DESIGN A MARKETING CAMPAIGN, APPLY FOR JOBS, VOTE FOR CITY OFFICIALS, AND EXPLORE CAREERS. FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY, OUR JA BIZTOWN FACILITY WAS CLOSED DURING THIS YEAR. IN LIEU, OUR STUDENTS COMPLETED THEIR PROGRAM WITH A NEW VIRTUAL TOWN SIMULATION, JA ADVENTURES, WHERE THEY EXPLORED WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BOTH A CONSUMER AND EMPLOYEE. THIS YEAR, 14,327 STUDENTS FROM 165 SCHOOLS PARTICIPATED IN THE JA BIZTOWN PROGRAM. UPON COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM, STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN JA BIZTOWN EXPERIENCED AN OVERALL 25% PERCENT KNOWLEDGE GAIN (ON AVERAGE) IN FINANCIAL LITERACY AND WORK READINESS SKILLS. OF THE EDUCATORS WHOSE STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN JA BIZTOWN, 98% INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD RECOMMEND THE JA BIZTOWN PROGRAM TO FELLOW TEACHERS. JAAZ PARTNERED WITH 473 BUSINESS, AND 2,380 PARENT AND TEACHER VOLUNTEERS WHO DELIVERED THE JA BIZTOWN PROGRAM, DONATING $602,853 IN THEIR TIME. INCLUDING THE VALUE OF ALL PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS IN OUR EXPENSES INCREASES OUR PROGRAM EXPENSE RATIO TO 92% REFLECTING THE EFFICIENCY GAINED BY LEVERAGING THE EXPERTISE OF THESE VOLUNTEERS.

JA INSPIRE IS JAAZ'S VIRTUAL CAREER EXPLORATION FAIR THAT ALLOWS 5TH-12TH GRADE STUDENTS TO EXPLORE CAREERS OF THE FUTURE. THIS YEAR, 11,088 STUDENTS FROM 91 SCHOOLS PARTICIPATED IN THIS INNOVATIVE PROGRAM. JA INSPIRE IS A DYNAMIC PROGRAM THAT CONSISTS OF THREE-PARTS: IN-CLASS CAREER READINESS AND EXPLORATION CURRICULUM, A CAREER ASSESSMENT AND ONE-OF-A-KIND VIRTUAL CAREER FAIR WITH ONGOING LIVE PROGRAMMING THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR. THE IN-CLASS LESSONS TEACH STUDENTS TO DEVELOP A CAREER PLAN, INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES, IMPORTANT SOFT SKILLS, AND MORE. THESE LESSONS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS TO BETTER FIT THE NEEDS OF EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS, ALIGNING TO MANY OF THE MAJOR EDUCATION COMPETENCY STANDARDS INCLUDING SOCIO-EMOTIONAL LEARNING STANDARDS. THE VIRTUAL CAREER FAIR ALLOWS STUDENTS TO ATTEND WEBINARS, EXPLORE LOCAL AND NATIONAL COMPANY CAREER BOOTHS, DOWNLOAD RESOURCES, VIEW VIDEOS ON CAREER PATHWAYS, AND INTERACT WITH INDUSTRY EXPERTS. COMBINED, THIS PROGRAM OFFERS STUDENTS VALUABLE CONTEXT FOR CAREER AND EDUCATIONAL PATHWAY PLANNING AND EQUIPS THEM WITH CRITICAL WORK READINESS SKILLS TO PREPARE THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL. SURVEY RESULTS SHOWED 89% OF STUDENTS FOUND A CAREER THAT MATCHES THEIR SKILLS AND INTERESTS, 72% OF STUDENT LEARNED ABOUT A NEW CAREER PATHWAY OR MORE ABOUT ONE THEY WERE INTERESTED IN, 62% OF STUDENTS WOULD RECOMMEND JA INSPIRE TO A FRIEND.

JA FINANCE PARK PROGRAM: OUR SECOND EXPERIENTIAL PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS IS JA FINANCE PARK, WHICH REQUIRES MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN 14-20 HOURS OF CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION WHERE THEY LEARN IMPORTANT PERSONAL MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS. THEY THEN APPLY THOSE NEWLY ACQUIRED SKILLS IN A VIRTUAL SIMULATION WHERE THEY ARE GIVEN A FICTIONAL LIFE SCENARIO AND ARE REQUIRED TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN A BALANCED PERSONAL BUDGET. THIS YEAR, 2,847 STUDENTS FROM 28 SCHOOLS RECEIVED THE JA FINANCE PARK CURRICULUM AND WERE EMPOWERED TO MANAGE THEIR MONEY AND NAVIGATE FINANCIAL COMPLEXITIES IN THEIR FUTURE. UPON COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM, JA FINANCE PARK STUDENTS SHOWED A 40% PERCENT FINANCIAL LITERACY KNOWLEDGE GAIN. JAAZ PARTNERED WITH 204 BUSINESS, AND 339 PARENT AND TEACHER VOLUNTEERS WHO DELIVERED THE JA FINANCE PARK PROGRAM, DONATING $85,507 OF THEIR TIME AND MILEAGE. INCLUDING THE VALUE OF ALL PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS IN OUR EXPENSES INCREASES OUR PROGRAM EXPENSE RATIO TO 92% REFLECTING THE EFFICIENCY GAINED BY LEVERAGING THE EXPERTISE OF THESE VOLUNTEERS.