By Devonta Davis
TAMPA- “Will we even use this class in real life?” is a question that is often asked by students who feel like they are wasting time with the regular curriculum taught in school. The Junior Achievement Academy of Tampa Bay is doing its part to get rid of that question.
JAATB is allowing students the opportunity to learn about real-world situations and skills that will benefit them at the conclusion of their education. The organization is worldwide in places such as Jamaica, China and Europe. The goal is to teach students in grades fifth through 10th the value of financial literacy.
The company accomplishes this goal by going into different schools with corporate volunteers to sit down with the students and teach them financial literacy for a day out of the week. Another program that they have is called Biztown which is exclusively for fifth graders.
In this program, volunteers teach 12 lessons over the course of two months. After the students know the lessons, they get the chance to go to Campus to Biztown. That’s where they go through an interview process. Once they are hired, they get to run their own businesses with their classmates.
The final program is called Finance Park which is primarily for students in the eighth grade and higher. This is where the students are put into groups then given real-life scenarios such as being a widow, a college student, or a hard-working person with five kids. The students are then asked to budget.
USF graduate and former JAATB team member, Stephanie Penaloza, was excited about the direction the program is headed.
“Most of our graduate students that have gone through the JAATB program receive some type of scholarship and graduated from four-year universities,” said Penaloza. “Grant LoPresti started with Biztown as a volunteer. He still comes to volunteer every summer and he goes to Duke University… we always welcome our people back.”
The company is looking to expand to other counties in Florida where they can put a Junior Academy inside of the high school to make it easier to access for students who do not have a way to make it to the Tampa campus.
“We plan on having permanent staff in high schools to put less strain on the students,” said Penaloza. “We also plan to implement a 3DE which would be a Junior Academy in Alachua and Manatee county so the students do not have to drive two hours to attend the programs.”
The academy has been around since 1916. The organization is located throughout the Tampa Bay area and in 12 different countries. It has over 3,000 volunteers but is always looking for more. If you are interested in joining the cause or having your child attend the Junior Achievement Academy, you can email jatampabay@ja.org or call (813) 631-1410.
