Monthly Archives: February 2012

Experience the feeling of becoming a successful entrepreneur

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Junior Achievement (JA) has more than 3,600 volunteers who reach more than 104,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students each year in 535 area schools. Every JA encounter makes an impact on both the student and the volunteer. Adam Carr, former JA student and current JA volunteer, explains how being involved with JA impacted his life.

I am a student, professional, and entrepreneur who graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Business with a major in Finance, a graduate of a Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.) specializing in Entrepreneurship, and a student pursuing my Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Organizational Development and Leadership. During the hours of 9:00 – 6:00 Monday through Friday I am a Military Admissions Counselor with the University of the Rockies and while I am not attending class or working I am an aspiring entrepreneur of Cornbelt Financial, a tax preparation and financial advising business.

As I reflect on my past I generally ask myself, “Where did my current professional path get started?” When searching for the answer to this question I recall my experience with Junior Achievement (JA) while I was freshman in High School. During my experience with JA as a student, approximately 10 years ago, I had my first opportunity to experience the feeling of becoming a successful entrepreneur. Our JA business consisted of selling teddy bears dipped into candle wax as a fragrant decoration for a house, a great gift for the holiday season in which our semester long JA business occurred. Throughout the JA business experience I gained knowledge and interest of business, finance, marketing, operations, management, and most importantly entrepreneurship. As a result of my experiences gained during the JA business, I have become successful as a student, a professional, and entrepreneur.

In return for the positive influence JA has had on my life, I volunteer approximately four hours a week helping with general administrative tasks for JA in the mornings prior to going to work. Thus I would like to thank JA for the positive experiences you have given me, given others, and will continue giving to future students.

Peak Performance Team Award

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Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain, Inc. (JA) is proud to be selected as a recipient of the 2011 Peak Performance Team Award. The Peak Performance Team award is a best-in-class award recognizing superior annual performance by a local staff team. JA also earned this award in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004.

To qualify for this award, JA had to earn two consecutive Summit Awards and show growth in student participation. For more about JA, download the 2011 Annual Report.

Financial Education Grant Applications Due on March 2

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Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company (Great-West) has launched the Great-West Great-Teachers financial literacy grant initiative, a signature community support program designed in partnership with the Colorado Jump$tart Coalition to help promote financial education among students in Colorado’s K-12 public schools.

To help educators bring financial education to the classroom, Great-West Great-Teachers financial literacy grant initiative will award up to 25 Colorado public school teachers a $5,000 grant for use during the 2012–2013 school year. The grant may be used to purchase supplies, further teachers’ financial education, fund field trips, and/or initiate other financial education activities and programs in the classroom.

Grant applications are available online at www.greatwestgreateachers.com and will be accepted until March 2. Colorado K-12 public school educators of all disciplines are encouraged to apply.

As required by state legislation enacted in 2008, new Personal Financial Literacy (PFL) expectations for grades K–12 were adopted by the state of Colorado in 2009.  This grant initiative will assist teachers in developing personal financial literacy education programs for students P-12 to meet the PFL standards.

PFL grade level expectations are intended to provide students with the essential knowledge and skills that will enable them to manage personal checking, savings and investment accounts; design and maintain a household budget; manage personal debt and personal credit options; understand consumer credit and finance; and develop and evaluate risk-management strategies.

Now Accepting JA Inspiration Scholarship Applications

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The JA Inspiration Scholarship provides four scholarships of $8,000 each to students who have participated in JA programs and embody the JA spirit, as demonstrated through their life experiences, drive, and future aspirations. Each recipient receives $2,000 per year for four years, with annual renewal based on recipient maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA while in college. Since JA started offering the scholarships in 2007, 26 scholarships have been awarded. Scholarship applications are being accepted now; you can download the application here.

Encana is so supportive of JA’s scholarship program that they offer at least one additional scholarship each year to students who participate in the JA Job Shadow program with them. For more information about the JA Inspiration Scholarship or the JA Job Shadow program, contact Nikki Shull at 303-628-7377.

Jefferson High School students participating in a JA Job Shadow at Encana

Solving Innumeracy with Financial Literacy

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We are proud to share the following article that ran in the winter edition of The Colorado Mathematics Teacher, the official publication of the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Junior Achievement’s Finance Park: Solving Innumeracy with Financial Literacy

Although it’s been more than two decades since its first publication, John Allen Paulos’ Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences (1989) popularized and advocated for better education in reasoning and numeracy. Numeracy, or quantitative literacy, is not a specific, complex mathematical topic, but the application of basic math concepts in “‘sophisticated settings,’” many of which affect adults every day (Gilliland, Melfi, Sikorskii, Corcoran, & Melfi, 2011, 2). In fact, at roughly the same time of its publication the National Research Council (NRC) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) released publications that changed the course of mathematic curricular design from one of mathematical topics to critical thinking, problem solving and practical applications (Schoenfeld,2002). The publications emphasize an undercurrent in mathematics instruction relevant to all students of all backgrounds—logical thinking and reasoning.

In the past two decades, a multitude of publications, reforms and revisions have affected curricular design and have resulted in a movement toward clear instruction within states and between states. The Common Core Standards, which seek to educate every student in mathematical topics and quantitative literacy, was adopted formally by Colorado in 2010. While it is critical that students have a thorough understanding of the topics taught in mathematics curricula, “making decisions in one’s personal life, on the job, and in matters of public interest calls increasingly for quantitatively sophisticated reasoning” (Schoenfeld, 2002, pg. 13). Traditional mathematics instruction in conjunction with an emphasis on reasoning and analysis, such as found in quantitative literacy and financial literacy like Junior Achievement, can help prepare students for personal and professional success.

Junior Achievement (JA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the theoretical with the practical and the community with the classroom, and has done so for over 60 years. JA offers free programming to schools that emphasize the three pillars of its mission—entrepreneurship, workforce readiness, and financial literacy. JA’s essential programming addresses the connection between financial literacy and quantitative literacy in its programs throughout Colorado. In an era when only 48% of students demonstrate proficiency on financial literacy tests (Mandel, 2008) and when financial literacy is considered a type of quantitative literacy (Gilliland, Melfi, Sikorskii, Corcoran, & Melfi, 2011,10), JA’s programs fill a critical need. To date, JA’s programs result in an aggregate 19% rate of gain, according to internal evaluation results. JA’s programs “[allow an] authentic assessment [opportunity] for teacher and student—[and measure] students’ ability to apply the ‘economic way of thinking,’” according to a high school teacher.

JA’s “authentic assessment” and “economic way of thinking” bridge quantitative literacy with real-world applications to state standards, as well as knowledge and skills that prepare students for college and careers, and emphasize higher order thinking skills. According to P21, a national organization focused on 21st Century skills, students excel when, in addition to common core subjects, students are given opportunities to focus on the 4Cs—collaboration, communication, creativity and innovation, and critical thinking and problem solving. JA integrates core knowledge and the 4Cs to provide comprehensive programming. Internal evaluation results demonstrate that 94% of surveyed educators believe JA’s programming encouraged critical thinking. Critical thinking through financial literacy programming is just one way to bolster students’ quantitative literacy skills. 

In addition to JA’s classroom K-12 programming, JA also offers a variety of capstone projects and programs to enhance financial and quantitative literacy. In October 2011, JA launched JA Finance Park, presented by Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company. JA Finance Park is a hands-on, budgeting simulation and opportunity, which provides free curriculum — taught in the classroom by teachers — to help students build a foundation for future personal financial success. During the one-day simulation, students create a budget based on a randomly assigned family and income profile, make purchase decisions while managing credit and debt, and donate their time, money or talent to various nonprofit organizations. This program meets all of the 8th grade and most high school Colorado Personal Financial Literacy standards in social studies and math, which include how saving and investing are key contributors to financial well-being. JA Finance Park demonstrates to students that a practical application exists between financial literacy and quantitative literacy. Students are required to think through purchasing and investing decisions, and balance a budget by the end of the day. JA Finance Park also helps students prepare their career and academic plan (ICAP) by connecting education milestones to specific jobs and their compensation. In 2008, a third-party evaluator assessed the quality and effectiveness of JA Finance Park. Not only did 98% of teachers say they would recommend JA Finance Park to other teachers, but also that their favorite aspects of the program include the real-world learning and practical applications of math. Teachers’ enthusiasm is reflected in students’ results. Before beginning the program, the students demonstrated an average pre-test score of 52% and, upon completion of the program, students correctly answered 72% of the post-test questions.

While these gains are significant, evaluations also revealed that the students retained the information presented through JA Finance Park in the long term. In fact, lifelong retention of a concept or skill occurs if the knowledge has been stored in memory for approximately two years. In 2009, external researchers conducted a retrospective study to determine what students recall three or more years after participation in JA Finance Park:

  • 91% could correctly define a budget
  • 81% said that they were more likely to use a budget
  • 76% understand how credit works
  • 89% knew that three variables (amount, interest and time) affect saving
  • 71% know how to find out if a stock price went up or down



Although these results may appear to be financial literacy specific, in fact these are the same real-world applications that promote quantitative literacy. The high rate of retention among participating students may reveal that the more students invest in quantitative problem-solving, the more likely they are to retain information in hopes of becoming successfully critical adult consumers.

These results illustrate the short- and long-term value of this financial and quantitative literacy program, which is offered free to schools and students by JA. JA Finance Park and JA programs empower young people to own their economic future.
For more information regarding JA and JA Finance Park go to www.JAColorado.org. For specific media coverage of JA Finance Park, visit JA in the News.

About the author: Rachel Knaizer is the Research and Evaluation Manager for Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain, Inc. and an adjunct instructor at University College, University of Denver.