Each year over 8,300 fifth graders control the airwaves in the Radio Disney studio, manage a city as mayor and learn what civic and leadership duties entail, all through Junior Achievement of Central Indiana’s (JA) program— JA BizTown.
JA BizTown is comprised of 15 lifelike businesses such as Huntington Bank, Indianapolis Power & Light, Lids, Steak n’ Shake, Fed Ex, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital and more.
“The best way for students to learn is hands-on experience,” explained Alyssa Andis, JA’s education director.
Before participating in the hands-on experience, which teaches students financial literacy, philanthropy and the importance of civic engagement, students are led by their classroom instructors through a four-week curriculum. This curriculum consists of learning supply and demand, how to deposit money into a bank and what it means to be a good leader.
“There are about 130 JA (centers) across the country and about 35 of them have a BizTown, so we’re pretty fortunate to have this program,” said Andis. “This teaches what it’s like to be in the real world and be a citizen for the day.”
Founded in 1957, JA’s mission is to educate young people in the areas of financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness. JA reaches about 17,000 students each year and offers programs for those in kindergarten to high school seniors.
JA BizTown, founded about 20 years ago and previously known as Exchange City, works with schools and educators exclusively. It is common for schools to receive financial funding from local businesses to help students participate in JA BizTown. From 2010-2011, the institution served over 10,500 students where 27 percent of the student body originated from schools where majority of children received free or reduced lunch. During the 2012-2014 year, JA reached over 19,000 students where 59 percent of the student body originated from schools where a majority of the children received free or reduced lunch. Participating schools include more than 28 Indianapolis Public Schools, over 17 Catholic schools and more than 100 other elementary schools. A large percentage of JA BizTown is operated by volunteers, who assist students in their businesses.
The Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper met Kelsey Malone, employee of Eli Lilly and Co. on her first day as a volunteer in JA BizTown’s Eli Lilly Laboratory.
“I lived on the Northside when I first moved to Indy and after constantly driving by I recognized the Junior Achievement logo from when I was a kid,” she said. “I did an in-school Junior Achievement program that came to our classroom for a series of weeks in the fourth grade. (JA BizTown) gives kids a practical view of the real world and how to be a contributor to society. It’s very important to start at a young age.”
Malone said signing up to volunteer was a stress-free process. The week leading up to the school’s arrival, volunteers receive a series of instructional videos to watch and the day of the program, they gather a few hours before opening and go through additional training.
In addition to the four-week curriculum students partake in, they are also interviewed by teachers, parents and volunteers to gain employment based upon their interest. A city mayor is also voted upon before students arrive. Each business has about five to eight employment positions, including CEO and CFO.
Throughout the program, the mayor and business CEO’s address the city, the sheriff writes tickets for standing on the grass, the DJ at the Radio Disney studio gives shout outs to good citizens, workers at Eli Lilly and Co. create oozing slime while others work with 3D printers.
“We want to teach them the value of money and how money flows. They get two paychecks a day, which isn’t the norm,” laughs Andis.
During the program’s four and a half hours, students are able to cash their checks and learn to use debit cards. Additionally, each business is put up for rent at the beginning of the day and workers must learn how to create a profit to pay the balance.
“It’s great because students leave here and have conversations with their parents and may say ‘I’ve written a check today,’” said Andis. “The learning definitely doesn’t stop here.”
For more information about JA BizTown, visit Jaindy.org.
