JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, INC.

JA Career Success equips students with the knowledge required to get and keep a job in high-growth industries. Students will explore the crucial workplace skills employers seek but often find lacking in young employees. Students also will learn about valuable tools to find that perfect job, including resumes, cover letters, and interviewing techniques. (Grades 9-12)

JA Company Program unlocks the innate ability in high school students to fill a need or solve a problem in their community by launching a business venture and unleashing their entrepreneurial spirit. The program focuses on Company Ops, the majority of meeting time, where students build and manage their business. Meeting-specific, student-friendly materials and resources increase student interaction and emphasize JA’s experiential approach to learning. (Grades 9-12)

JA Economics for Success gives students the information needed to build strong personal finances, a cornerstone to a happy, secure life. Students learn the importance of exploring career options based on their skills, interests, and values. They also learn about spending money within a budget; saving and investing wisely; and using credit cautiously. (Grades 6-8)

JA Economics reinforces concepts of micro- and macro-economics by having students explore the basic characteristics of the U.S. economic system and how economic principles influence business decisions. It also introduces students to consumer issues, such as saving, investing, and taxation. (Grades 11-12)

JA Exploring Economics uses hands-on activities to explain complex economic concepts such as supply and demand, inflation, and the production, distribution and consumption of goods. It gives insight into the effect governments and individuals have on the global economy— and on the price of a loaf of bread. (Grades 9-12)

JA Finance Park is a month-long program that introduces students to personal financial planning and career exploration. At the culmination of this teacher-led program, students visit JA Finance Park, a realistic on-site or virtual community, to put into practice what they've learned by developing and committing to a personal budget. (Middle School and High School)

JA Global Marketplace - Blended Model gives students an opportunity to experience the impact and importance of international business by playing the role of business owners and managers. (Grades 6-8)

JA Global Marketplace takes students on a spin around the world. Students learn the products they use every day, like their backpacks and sneakers, might use raw material from one country, be assembled in another, and sold from Peking to Chicago. The program helps students understand how goods flow through various economies and the effect globalization has on their lives. (Grades 6-8)

JA It's My Business! encourages students to use critical thinking to learn entrepreneurial skills. Those skills include knowing customers' wants and needs, launching effective marketing, and creating detailed business plans. By examining the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, students learn that a belief in one's self can make positive things happen in life. (Grades 6-8)

JA It’s My Future provides practical information about preparing for the working world. Students learn about career clusters, high-growth jobs, career planning, and creating a personal brand. And, through a scavenger hunt, they are introduced to the basic aspects of job hunting. (Grades 6-8)

JA Job Shadow prepares students to be entrepreneurial thinkers in their approach to work. In-class sessions prepare students for a visit to a professional work environment, where they will face a series of challenges administered by their workplace hosts. Students learn how to research career opportunities and the skills needed to land and keep their dream job. (Grades 9-12)

JA More than Money teaches students about earning, spending, sharing, and saving money. It also identifies businesses that students can start or jobs they can perform to earn money. Students play a game to learn money-management skills and to better understand the role and importance of money in their lives. (Grades 3-5)

JA Our City introduces students to the characteristics of cities and how cities are shaped by zoning. Students also learn about the importance of money to a city; how financial institutions help businesses and city residents; and how the media is an integral part of a city's life. Students learn the role of an entrepreneur by exploring what it takes to open a restaurant. (Grade 3)

JA Our Community uses posters and games to offer practical information about businesses and the many jobs those businesses offer in a community. Students explore production methods through a simulation game, and they learn about taxes, decision making, and how money flows in an economy. (Grade 2)

JA Our Families explains how family members' jobs and businesses contribute to the well-being of the family and of the community. The program introduces the concept of needs and wants and explores the ways families plan for and acquire goods and services. Students analyze their own skills to determine ways they can support their families. (Grade 1)

JA Our Region introduces students to entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurs use resources to produce goods and services in a region. Students operate a hypothetical hot dog stand to understand the fundamental tasks performed by a business owner and to track the revenue and expenses of a business. (Grade 4)

JA Ourselves uses storybook characters in read-aloud and hands-on activities to introduce the role people play in an economy. Through engaging, volunteer-led activities, young students learn about individual choices, money, the importance of saving and giving, and the value of work. (Kindergarten)

JA Personal Finance-Blended Model demonstrates the relationship between financial decisions made now and future financial freedom and quality of life. Students learn that a positive financial future requires making smart choices about education, a career, and saving and investing. (Grades 9-12)

JA Personal Finance explores the fundamental elements of personal finances: earnings, saving and investing, budgeting, credit, risk management, and giving. Students apply these elements to a personal financial plan that allows them to set specific goals for their lifelong financial needs and desired quality of life. (Grades 9-12)

JA Titan allows students to operate a virtual company through a Web-based simulation. The students' success depends on decisions about their product's price and their company's marketing, research and development, and business practices. Win or lose, students gain an understanding of how management decisions affect a company's bottom line. (Grades 9-12)