Building a Foundation for the Future: Junior Achievement

Entrepreneurship Programs

John M. Box, Ph.D.Vice President, Product Development and Support

JA Worldwide®

Session Overview:

• Entrepreneurship – A Pillar of Student Success• Scope and Sequence of JA entrepreneurship

programs• JA Entrepreneurship Programs – Two Examples

– JA’s Biz Kid$ – JA It’s My Business!

• Q&A

JA Worldwide’s Core Purpose

To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global

economy.

Pillars of Student Success

• Entrepreneurship

• Work-Readiness

• Financial Literacy

Scope and Sequence

• Mode of Delivery– Classroom-Based– Afterschool– Capstone

• Focus on three pillars of student success.

JA’s Biz Kid$

• A series of 30-minute PBS television shows about entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

• Designed for upper-elementary and lower middle-school students.

• Teaches student through direct instruction, comedy sketches, and real-life profiles.

JA’s Biz Kid$

• Includes a website where information about the program and…

JA’s Biz Kid$

…activities are available for use by the teacher, volunteers, and parents.

JA It’s My Business!

• Emphasizes entrepreneurship.• Designed for students in grades 6-8.• Composed on six volunteer-led sessions.• Developed for use in after-school settings.• Strong focus on social studies, reading, and writing skills.• Includes access to an online Entrepreneur Journal at

www.ja.org.• Designed to support the skills identified by the Partnership

for 21st Century Skills.

JA It’s My Business!

• Session One: I Am an Entrepreneur– Students begin to identify entrepreneurial

characteristics they possess by learning about the lives of entrepreneurs both past and present.

JA It’s My Business!

• Session Two: I Can Change the World– Students identify the first entrepreneurial

characteristic – Fill a Need. They begin to identify the skills and knowledge needed to start a business by considering customer needs and brainstorming product designs.

JA It’s My Business!

• Session Three: I Know My Customer– Students learn the second entrepreneurial

characteristic- Know Your Customer and Product – and discover ways to market specific products to the appropriate customer.

JA It’s My Business!

• Session Four – I Have an Idea– Students participate in an auction designed to

highlight creative and innovative entrepreneurs and their businesses.

JA It’s My Business!

• Session Five – I See a Need– By analyzing current examples of social

entrepreneurs, students identify businesses they can start. The examine ways entrepreneurs use the four entrepreneurial characteristics to develop their business plan.

JA It’s My Business!

• Session Six – Celebrate Entrepreneurs!– Students create Entrepreneur Profile Cards to

showcase their understanding of the fourth entrepreneurial characteristic – Believe in Yourself.

Q&A