Agency Details:

Junior Achievement inspires and prepares young people to succeed in a global economy. With the help of community volunteers as "teachers" in the classroom, students are learning about financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness skills.

Description:
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. JA’s unique approach utilizes business volunteers who go into the classroom to share their personal experience and business expertise while following an established JA curriculum. JA programs begin at the elementary school level, teaching children how they can impact the world around them as individuals, workers and consumers. Age-appropriate curriculum continues through the middle grades and high school with a focus on entrepreneurship and work readiness. JA programs align with New York State Learning Standards and help improve the quality of young people’s lives by preparing them for the real world.

History:
Junior Achievement of WNY, Inc. was founded in 1957 as Junior Achievement of the Niagara Frontier. Currently, JA of WNY covers eight counties and runs programs in over 120 area schools and community sites. Until 1975, JA consisted of an after-school program in which students, under the direction of a business community volunteer, ran small mock companies that produced "widgets and wares" for sale at JA trade shows. In 1975, Junior Achievement developed in-school economic education programs for students in grades 7-12. Recent years have seen the development and growth of JA's K-6 programs. The curriculum is designed in a sequential manner, each building on the concepts learned and practiced in the previous lesson.

Junior Achievement programs were, and continue to be, taught by volunteers from the business community, called JA consultants. Today, Junior Achievement places consultants in over 600 area classrooms each year, teaching over 13,000 students how business works. The demand for quality volunteers in the classroom has never been greater.

Contact person: Alycia Ivancie, Senior Program Manager, (phone), (email)

Address:

275 Oak Street, Suite 222 Buffalo, NY 14203 (See a map)