30 classrooms added to Junior Achievement program

The 2013-2014 academic school year will be impacted with upcoming Junior Achievement (JA) sessions. JA is a volunteer-delivered, kindergarten–12th grade program that fosters work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills. The course also uses experiential learning to inspire students to dream big and reach their full potential.

Last year, 16 classrooms in the Corridor region offered JA, influencing 250 students. This year’s program will leave an even larger mark ; approximately 50 classrooms will participate, impacting over 1,000 students. Thirty of those will be held at Storm Lake Elementary School, which is new to JA, and quadruples the reach of the program in the Corridor region. The curriculum will also be taking place in Spencer, Newell-Fonda and at Clay Central Everly, with hopes of gaining exposure in both Dickinson and Emmet county.

In the 2012-2013 school year, 4.2 million JA students nationwide developed the essential skills needed to experience the realities of the global marketplace.

The Iowa Lakes Corridor sponsors JA for many reasons, one reason in particular is to help stimulate its Workforce Initiative.

“For our area to grow and prosper, more people must decide the Corridor region is a great place to live, work and play. JA is one of many programs we employ to prepare the next generation of skilled workers and entrepreneurs in hopes of promoting the area for life after school,” Senior Vice President, Brian Dalziel stated.

There are many benefits to Junior Achievement. Through
innovative partnerships between the business community, educators and volunteers, JA helps young people develop competitive skills and confidence for bolstering the local workforce, which contributes to economic growth. It also stresses the importance of staying in school.

“Our programs help prepare young people for the real-world by showing them how to generate wealth, effectively manage that wealth, how to create jobs for more robust
communities, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace,” Dalziel added. “Students are able to put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities at an early age.”

40 volunteers are needed to make JA a success. The Iowa Lakes Corridor is still in need of volunteers for this year’s program in all counties; Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet. Each volunteer will attend one 45 minute training session and is committed to the 5-week JA course. The volunteer helps facilitate the activities throughout each session, lastingapproximately 30-45 minutes. The meeting times are arranged between the teacher and the corresponding volunteer.

If you would like to be a volunteer this year, please contact the Corridor at 712.264.3474 or by emailing Alexa Guessford at aguessford@lakescorridor.com.