Favorite JA Programs

NerdWallet’s Favorite Junior Achievement Programs  



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Junior Achievement partnering with Milwaukee Public Schools

Across the state of Wisconsin, Junior Achievement students are learning about personal finance and careers.  Check out the article on the Milwaukee Public schools website by clicking the link below:

Milwaukee Public Schools

JA in article on CNBC's website

  

Entrepreneurial Studies Sweep America’s High School System 

Published: Monday, 13 Aug 2012 | 12:04 PM ET

By: Albert Bozzo
Senior Features Editor

As Henry Ford, Richard Sears and other trailblazing entrepreneurs cemented their business empires in the early 20^th century, two of their lesser-known peers — also with no advanced education — laid the foundation of a different legacy.

In Massachusetts in 1919, Theodore Vail, president of AT&T, and Horace Moses, president of Strathmore Paper, founded what might be the first extra-curricular entrepreneurial program in the country -- Junior Achievement, which taught high school students the skills of the trade after school hours.

Now, programs of Colorado-based Junior Achievement reach more than 4 million students a year; in particular, its JA Be Entrepreneurial program focuses on challenging students to start their own entrepreneurial venture while still in high school.

JA is hardly alone. In places like Philadelphia, Lincoln, Neb., Portland, Ore., and Syracuse, N.Y., cities, schools and not-for-profit organizations are teaching entrepreneurial studies to kids well before they reach college age.

“These are desperate times; we’re facing great challenges in the global economy,” says Ted Zoller, a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation's entrepreneurship program and a professor at the University of Carolina-Chapel Hill. “People are really hungry for heroes.”

The growth in entrepreneurial programs at the high school level, much like the more-publicized college ones, appears to touch on both a consumer need and a societal nerve.

The Internet age has created hundreds of innovative, charismatic business minds, whose game-changing ideas have earned them fame and fortune, while changing the work and recreational lives of millions of people.

It also coincides with a rethink of the nation’s educational system, long based on a four-year, liberal arts degree, whose soaring cost has created staggering and burdensome debt for many students.

Those forces, along with the maturation of the global economy, the dominance of massive multinational companies and a shaky, unpredictable job market, have stoked renewed and widespread interest in business startups and self-employment, experts say. 

‘We’re looking for leaders in business because people have largely abandoned traditional kinds of business -- private equity, large companies,” says Zoller. “They’re disappointed. They’re hungry for a new generation of entrepreneurs.”

Almost half (45 percent) of the pre-college students polled in a 2011 Gallup survey said they planned to start their own business, while 42 percent of them said they will invent something that changes the world.

In addition, a recent NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation survey found that 90 percent of teachers and guidance counselors said their students were interested in becoming entrepreneurs, but 75 percent of the students didn’t know where to start.

Margaret Marie Butler, director of Syracuse University’s Student Entrepreneurial Experience (SEE) and a college dropout and former business owner, helped launch the program this year knowing kids who were unlikely to advance to college needed help.

“They have great ideas but don’t have an outlet for them — that there are people out there who can help them,” she said.

Twenty teens, including three who had already started a business before participating, just completed SEE’s inaugural week-long program. Affiliated with the university’s South Side Innovation Center, the program accommodates high school and college students and is modeled on an adult program that started seven years ago.

At SEE, the students meet with successful entrepreneurs — a fairly common component; in this case, the group included the founders of Brand Yourself, a free, online reputation service.

Though these programs vary widely in focus, format, duration, student base and cost, many of them, like Vail’s and Moses’ a century ago, are founded, run and even supported by entrepreneurs.

Some are famous, others are not.

Peter Thiel, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of PayPal, is now in the third year of his foundation’s fellowships, which award $100,000 to 20 young entrepreneurs, who are willing to skip college for two years and focus on their work.

Philadelphia-based Startup Corps is also in its third year.  

Co-founded by local entrepreneurs Rich Sedmak and Christian Kunkel, the organization received early support from Walter Buckley, founder and CEO of the Internet Capital Group, which is based in a Philadelphia suburb. Some 200 area entrepreneurs serve as mentors.

Ninety-two students from six schools participated in the in-school program this past year, which provides the nuts and bolts of starting your own businesses. The program will add an after-school component to serve more students, the majority of whom are low-income, inner city.

“The goal is to develop an entrepreneurial mindset," says Sedmak, who founded his first company — a consumer electronic s liquidation business — when he was 15 and eventually dropped out of college to start another firm. “Startup Corps, like Peter Thiel, believes that there's a huge societal opportunity cost in letting entrepreneurial minds slip through the cracks,” Sedmak said. “Both the university system, and even more, so the k-12 education system, are anti-entrepreneurial. Our kids hate school. “

Startup Corps accommodates for-profit enterprises, as well as not-for-profit ones, which in some cases, mix commerce with a cause.

Sedmak, for example, readily cites the success of two 16-year-old, hip-hop music fans who started a music label that promotes peace and nonviolence within the genre, recruiting local stars.

In Portland, Ore., entrepreneurship is a full-time, four-year pursuit at the nation’s only charter school devoted to the subject. The Leadership and Entrepreneurship Public Charter High School (LEP) opened its doors in August 2006 and has 325 students, man of whom are considered at risk of failing academically.

Unlike the other programs, LEP specifically wants its students to achieve a post-secondary education, even as it encourages them to start a business while in school. 

The school works with local entrepreneurial organizations, as well as Angel Investors Oregon, which has provided funding for some of the students’ ventures.

“We do very specific things about learning how to be an entrepreneur, but we also want them to be problem solvers, to take ownership of their life and career and to be risk-takers,” said Principal Lorna Fast Buffalo Horse.

In Lincoln, Neb., the public school district operates the Entrepreneurship Focus Program with the help of private funding. It takes up to 80 students a year.  The program is something of a hybrid; it provides core subjects (English, math) and entrepreneurial-business focused ones (marketing, applied economics and technology).

In Irvine, Calif., the Teen Entrepreneur Academy just ended its first summer at Concordia University, the Christian school where U.S. Olympic beach volleyball champion Misty May-Treanor is studying for a master’s degree.

Professor and university EVP Stephen Christensen, who teaches entrepreneurial studies, started the 40-person program after he saw the 2011 Gallup poll about kids' interest in starting a business, and adapted some of his college material for a high school audience. 

"They all had an interest in business but some didn’t know what the word entrepreneur meant," he said.

Christensen, who is working on a master's in theology and is founder of commercial and nonprofit ventures, added: “I'm really committed to exposing them to new ways of thinking; entrepreneurs see problems and opportunities and act on them. It’s a paradigm shift." 

The program, for which participants had to create a business plan, yielded ones for a social media site where teens could share videos and music, and for an open source gaming site for small-game developers. 

Among the visiting entrepreneurs was Michael Mattos, who founded enCard, which provides premium credit-card applications and processing services used by some 30 million merchants.

Christensen’s program has a unique twist. In keeping the Christian foundation of the school, the program also incorporates what he considers business lessons from the Bible, from market research to delegation.

Make no mistake, though, he’s a businessman at heart. He’s designed a $3,000 licensing kit so others can use the program.

“I need to recoup some my startup costs,” he says, showing his entrepreneurial colors.

Yes, comparisons to the entrepreneurs of today may sound rich, but in the end, even the best and brightest of them start small — and young.

“Tons of these ‘netpreneurs,’ when they were 15 years old they were doing these micro enterprises,” said Startup Corps’ Sedmak.

Financial Services Roundtable

Financial Services Roundtable Features JA

Junior Achievement USA was recently recognized as the Financial Services Roundtable’s “Company of the Week.” The “Company of the Week” features organizations for which Financial Services Roundtable members’ employees volunteer throughout the year. More than 10 percent of all students who received a JA program in the 2010-2011 school year were taught by a Roundtable member. Junior Achievement was specifically highlighted for the recent JA National Student Leadership Summit that took place in Washington, D.C.

News from the 2012 Wisconsin JA Young Entrepreneur

Junior Achievement in Wisconsin selects a Young Entrepreneur (under 18 years old) each year.  Below is an email from this years winner and what he currently is doing:

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the email. I am currently enjoying myself in Sweden. I have since hired an employee who is taking care of the work while I am in Sweden.

I have some more exciting news. I was searching for an office space in Minneapolis and I ran across a close place to campus that was leasing. The leaser told me that a major cell phone repair company, Gophermods, was relocating to a 2,000 square foot space in the same office building. He quickly reached out to the owner of Gophermods, Casey Profita. Casey is from Wisconsin and he was coincidentally the 2007 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the World. Small world. He just graduated from the U of M and he has 6 or 7 employees!

Anyways, to the exciting news. Casey contacted me and offered me a spot on the floor with them. They get a fair amount of foot traffic and they only do repairs; they do not buy and resell. Casey said that they get hundreds of requests each month for phones, but they haven't been tried to move into the business I am in. I will be getting around 250 square feet for $300/month. It also comes with free internet, telephone, and a parking space. Most importantly, within a few months I think that I will be able to have a storefront in Minneapolis!

Yes, I am expecting around $300,000 in sales. I don't want to speculate on profits, but I am definitely projecting it to be in the same $40,000 to 50,000 range. Expenses really do pick up as you expand!

I am enrolled and I have my schedule for the U of M and Supply Chain Management for this Fall. I am heading to Minneapolis in two weeks to hammer out the details of my space in Minneapolis.

I just wanted to say that none of this would have been possible if it wan't for Ernst and Young and Junior Achievement, seriously!

Thanks,

Austin

Junior Achievement BizTown

Check out the CBS 58’s Making Milwaukee Great segment on JA BizTown. 

http://www.cbs58.com/features/making-milwaukee-great/Junior-Achievement-BizTown-160683445.html

Adam Rycroft Receives JA Scholarship

Adam Rycroft with JA Director Diane Heikes.  Adam received the SACF Youth Volunteer Award in April 2012 and donated part of his award to the Shawano JA Business Challenge

Adam Rycroft taught Junior Achievement to kindergarten students the last two years at Hillcrest Primary School in Shawano.  Because Adam was a JA volunteer as a high school student, he was eligible to apply for JA of Wisconsin scholarships.  He was selected as a $3,000.00 recipient!  Ten scholarships were given; a total of $30,000 awarded from the Junior Achievement Women's Association in Milwaukee.

Adam will be attending either Michigan Tech or the University of Minnesota in the fall of 2012, pursing a degree in engineering.

Besides volunteering and participating in Junior Achievement while attending Shawano Community High School, Adam also participated in Cross Country, Swimming and Track for 4 years and played the string bass in the SCHS Orchestra.  Adam was also active in Boy Scout Troop 32, becoming an Eagle Scout earlier this year.

Through Junior Achievement, Adam talked to younger kids about  realizing their potential and pursuing their dreams.  JA is proud to be a partner in helping Adam pursue his.  Congratulations Adam!

Alliant Energy Foundation Grant

Because of the generosity of the Alliant Energy Foundation in awarding a Community Grant to Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, JA students in Shawano County were empowered to make a connection between what they learned in school and how it could be applied in the real world.  Thank you Alliant Energy for supporting JA in Shawano County! 

JA Thank You Luncheon

JA Board Members at the Thank You Luncheon

 
Great fut_ures - u responded!!  Over 75 JA volunteers, donors, educators and board members from Shawano and Menominee counties had lunch on JA Wednesday, May 23.  Local JA students shared their experiences from the 2011-2012 school year, 5 & 10 year volunteers were recognized along with retiring JA board members and Karen Preston from Olga Brener Intermediate School received the JA teacher of the year award.

Volunteers play a key role in bringing Junior Achievement to life.  JA appreciates everything you do!!  Together we contribute to the vitality of our community and a well-educated workforce.  Your leadership, expertise and support are critical to JA's success.  Thank You!

Student Christian Krueger from Shawano High School

Karen Smith, Olga Brener Principal; Karen Preston, 2011-12 JA Teacher of the Year; Todd Carlson, Shawano School District Superintendent

5 year volunteers Lindsay Johnson and Angie Kringle

10 year volunteers Maggie Anderson, Roger Olson, Don Pedersen, Char Larsen and Sandi Kane

                                                           

JA Board Member Fred Ponschok

JA Volunteers

Karen Preston accepting the JA teacher of the year award

Melissa Moore, JA Board Chair

Athletes as Entrepreneurs

BizTimes: Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin Business News | BizTimes

Rodgers and Braun will open new restaurant

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun are teaming together to launch a new restaurant in Brookfield.

Oak Creek-based -based Surg Restaurant Group announced today that Wisconsin’s two athletic Most Valuable Players will open a new restaurant called 8*twelve.
The restaurant, located at 17800 W. Bluemound Road in Brookfield, will offer family cuisine, as well as steaks and seafood with much of executive chef Aaron Patin’s preparation taking place on a wood fire grill, a center point of the kitchen.
Fans of both players will see memorabilia in the bar area, which will feature several big-screen televisions. The grand opening for the new restaurant is slated for June.
"Wisconsin has the greatest fans in the country," Rodgers said in a press release issued by the SURG group. "This is an excellent opportunity for me to work with Ryan on a project that will create something for fans of the Packers, Brewers and sports in general, to take part in and enjoy."
The new restaurant is located in a spot that formerly housed Charro. Braun’s name also is on Ryan Braun’s Graffito, a Surg restaurant in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.
"Aaron and I are not only great friends, but we both have whole-heartedly made long-term commitments to the sports fans of Wisconsin," said Braun. "We wanted to give them a home base to celebrate their favorite teams and enjoy some great food and service."
Omar Shaikh, co-owner of Surg, said the players both had input on the concept of 8*twelve and will make scheduled and unscheduled appearances throughout the year.
"Ryan's involvement with Graffito has been such a positive experience for both sides, so when another opportunity presented itself in Brookfield, we all agreed to move forward," Shaikh said. "Aaron had expressed interest in the business after visiting Graffito a few times and with his friendship with Ryan, 8*twelve just fell into place. This will be great for the Brookfield area."
Mike Polaski, chief executive officer and co-owner of Surg, said plans for additional locations of 8*twelve are being considered.

Get Money $mart Event

  April 25 at Shawano Community Middle School

Junior Achievement at the resource fair