Junior Achievement of the Triad

Junior Achievement of the Triad opened in 1965 with the help of nearly three dozen local business leaders who saw the need for businesses and schools to partner to better prepare students to be active citizens and workforce members. In the early 1970s, Junior Achievement debuted its first in-school program, Project Business, taught by volunteers. The popularity of Project Business was tremendous and demand for new programs was overwhelming! Junior Achievement had the vision that all children deserved, and could understand, economic education programming at all grade levels. Today, Junior Achievement offers programs – in the core content areas of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy – for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade seeking to prepare them to succeed in a global economy.

Junior Achievement of the Triad is developing strategic plans with local school systems to provide curriculum kit-based programs to K-5th grade students, the JA Inspire virtual career fair for middle and high school students, and the JA Career Speaker series for K-12th grade students. Partnerships are established with local businesses and curriculum is delivered by business volunteers from across community partnerships. Junior Achievement’s program. Our professionally designed, rigorously evaluated, comprehensive and relevant curriculum, developed in partnership with educators and endorsed by superintendents, reinforces and supplements North Carolina’s Common Core Standards and Social Studies Essential Standards.
All Junior Achievement programs are delivered by trained corporate and community volunteers who share their skills and personal and professional experiences to make learning come to life. Our financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work readiness programs are typically presented by Junior Achievement’s volunteers for 30-45 minutes each week for five to seven weeks, with the exact time commitments dependent upon the grade level of the students. JA works with hundreds of volunteers to provide our life-changing educational experiences to more than 10,000 students each year.

As a local chapter of a National Network, Junior Achievement has access to national support for programming growth. With a growing and active board of directors, representing financial and community organizations from across the community, Junior Achievement's educational, financial and corporate partnerships are opening doors for program expansion.

JA Alumni are well-positioned to:

-Attain higher levels of education – 93% high school, 42% four-year degree, 20% advanced degree; compared to US population at 88%, 32% and 12%;
-Earn 20% higher income – $62,500 compared to the general US population at $51,939;
-Achieve greater career satisfaction – 88% as compared to the general US population at 49%;
-Incur less debt and pay any debt in a quarter of the time as the general US population;
-Are 2 ½ times more likely to start a business