Non-Profit Initiative Award Finalist
Our children are the future. Their education and preparedness for the workforce will be determinants of that future, but, too often, youth are disconnected from school and the world-of-work because of familial, academic, and economic challenges in their lives.
The mission of Junior Achievement (JA) is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Junior Achievement of Northern New England (JANNE) engages students in grades k-12 in financial literacy, workforce readiness and entrepreneurship education. Programs are conducted in schools and at corporate and nonprofit community partners’ sites, are taught by trained, business and community volunteers, and are delivered at no cost to schools, community partners, or the youth they serve. The intent is to demonstrate to students the economics of why they should stay in school and pursue post-secondary education.
JA serves young people from all backgrounds and abilities. JA curriculum remains consistent at each grade level, but due to broad diversity of the volunteer-base, program-delivery is highly varied. Volunteers’ diversity is reflected in age, sex, ethnicity, education, profession, and industry. In addition, these individuals also bring their personal ethnic and family backgrounds, educational and professional histories, and life experiences. Such richness enables JANNE to serve an array of local youth with truly meaningful programs because of the benefits of exposure to adults with whom they identify.
As JANNE works with students throughout the city of Boston and beyond, the support of ethnic-focused organizations is enlisted, like the Asian Alliance and Latino Professional Network, and affinity groups within local corporations. And, although JANNE concentrates on serving disadvantaged, at-risk students, an emphasis is additionally placed on students at pivotal ages in middle and high school. JANNE also reaches students with disabilities. The Massachusetts Department of Education reports that 17% of JA students have Individual Education Plans (IEP’s), indicating they have special education needs. And this percentage doesn’t even include hundreds more who have chronic health conditions. Because high-needs students are mainstreamed into general classrooms whenever possible, JANNE reaches youth with diverse needs daily, but is pleased to report they’ve added specific programs for students with intellectual disabilities this academic year.
To prepare students for the complex economic challenges that lie ahead, teachers must have active support from community partnerships, and JA provides this vital link. It’s been reported that 75% of teachers and volunteers and an average of eight out of 10 students believe JA programs have helped reinforce the importance of staying in school. More than eight out of 10 (84%) JA alumni indicate that JA enabled them to connect what they learned in the classroom to real life, with 76% believing they have the skills needed to start their own businesses, as opposed to 41 percent of non-JA respondents. Finally, in a recent JA alumni study, 20% of respondents indicated that they own their own business, as opposed to 7% of the comparison group and 10% of the general population.
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