High School students build their own business through Junior Achievement company program
The Roy Klein Foundation awarded Junior Achievement of Delaware a $2,500 grant to fund the JA Company Program providing economic education at Caesar Rodney High School.
On Friday, November 8, 2013 the Roy Klein Foundation presented Junior Achievement of Delaware with a $2,500 grant for Caesar Rodney High School. The grant funding is specific to the JA Company Program that provides basic economic education for high school students allowing them a unique experience forming and running a business. Students sell stock in the company, market test and produce a product, engage in philanthropy, and liquidate the company at the end of the year; repaying their stockholders. Students learn how to run and manage every aspect of a business from human resources and public relations to production and finance, and draw a salary and commission from the sale of their product.
“The JA Company Program has helped my students grow as people. They are more confident, have improved inter-personal skills, and are better able to see the relevancy of what they learn in their classes at school. These students have also become more creative, organized, and better able to find solutions to problems,” said Jonathan Wickert, teacher at Caesar Rodney High School who leads the JA Company Program. “I feel as if the JA Company Program, and support from JA of Delaware, has made my students better prepared for the future. Regardless of whether they become entrepreneurs or employees of an existing company, they are ready to lead.”
This is the second consecutive year the Klein Foundation has funded the JA Company Program at Caesar Rodney High School. In the 2012-2013 academic year, the Klein Foundation awarded a $1,500 grant to help run the program for high school students. The Roy Klein Foundation has chosen continued support of the JA Company Program due to its close alignment with its own mission: to create financial support for education and economic development in greater Dover and Kent County, Delaware. Last year, through the help of the Klein Foundation’s grant, Caesar Rodney’s team of high school students in the JA Company Program, placed in the top 15 teams in the country, allowing them to compete nationally in Washington, D.C.
About Junior Achievement USA™ and Junior Achievement of Delaware™
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches four million students per year in 124 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.8 million students served by operations in 119 other countries worldwide.
Junior Achievement of Delaware serves students in the entire state of Delaware as well as students in Cecil County of Maryland and students in Salem County of New Jersey. In 2012, JA of Delaware served over 18,400 students, delivering more than 329,000 instructional contact hours across its innovative in-class and experiential learning programs. JA experiences focus on seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. For more information please visit www.jadelaware.org.