Junior Achievement - Central Minnesota

Junior Achievement North (JA) envisions a world where young people have the skillset and mindset to build thriving communities. JA programs align to three pathways: Financial Literacy, Career Readiness, and Entrepreneurship. Through a continuum of experiential learning opportunities, K-12 students acquire competencies needed to reach their full potential.

JA programs: (1) Expose students to career pathways and teach them the skills needed to fill the talent pipeline relevant to our region’s established and future economy, (2) Nurture educated, proactive attitudes toward personal finances in students that will support their financial stability as they progress through various life stages, and (3) Cultivate highly sought after entrepreneurial skills like strategic thinking, resourcefulness, teamwork, and innovation to prepare students to be highly engaged employees.

Junior Achievement - St. Cloud area serves students/schools in these communities: St. Cloud, Clearlake, Waite Park, St. Joseph, Avon, Albany, Cold Spring, Richmond, Rockville, St. Augusta, Kimball, Sauk Rapids, Rice, Sartell, and St. Stephen.

Junior Achievement partners with local schools and other youth serving organizations to provide students with access to experiential learning opportunities in three educational pathways: work and career readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship.

JA's K-12 program options include: our K-5 suite of sequential programs, JA BizTown (elementary capstone), middle school pathway programs, JA Finance Park (middle school capstone), high school pathway programs, and JA Company Program (high school capstone). 

A key ingredient to JA’s success is the use of volunteers. Volunteers bring programming to life, and when students are able to connect with an adult and hear about their life experiences, they are exposed to opportunities and pathways they often have never envisioned. Volunteers give students a different point of view by sharing how they chose the job they are in, what their educational path was, and stories of real-life financial decisions.

If you are interested in teaching a JA program for our local youth in grades K-12, please contact erin.brum@janorth.org for more information. JA programs are taught from September through May in-classroom, during the school day.