Middle School Students

Six local school systems partner to bring relevant, authentic and experiential learning to middle school students

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Mike and Lynn Cottrell JA Discovery Center at North Georgia to Impact 15,000 Local Students

Atlanta, GA – The Mike and Lynn Cottrell JA Discovery Center at North Georgia is well underway and will begin serving students in Fall 2018.

It will be the third JA Discovery Center in Georgia, and will serve middle school students in the northern region of the state. The facility will be located on the new high school campus of the Alliance Academy for Innovation of Cumming – Forsyth, also opening in Fall 2018. The inclusion of the facility on this innovative campus will provide students continued exposure to their future possibilities.

“We are thrilled to be able to expand the impact of this relevant, authentic and experiential learning to more students across the state,” said Jack Harris, President and CEO, Junior Achievement of Georgia. “This facility creates an opportunity for us to enhance existing partnerships, and ignite new ones in a community that is engaged in deepening their students’ education experience,” said Harris.

The first hybrid facility in the state will combine both JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, experiential simulations that have impacted more than 160,000 middle school students in the last three years.

“Our students will have a chance to explore career opportunities that perhaps they have never considered before, and to learn entrepreneurial skills that will be very beneficial as they consider their career pathways and post-secondary areas of interest,” said Dr. Jeff Bearden, Superintendent, Forsyth County Schools. “In my 30 years in public education, I have never experienced a program and a curriculum that addresses financial literacy better than the JA Discovery Center concept.  We are so fortunate to afford our students this opportunity,” said Bearden.

Middle school students from Calhoun City Schools, Dawson County Schools, Forsyth County Schools, Gainesville City Schools, Hall County Schools and Lumpkin County Schools will all participate in in-class curriculum in preparation for their immersive experiences in JA BizTown and JA Finance Park.

JA BizTown creates an unmatched experience where students are able to interact within a simulated economy and take on the challenge of fueling a business. Here, students not only discover the intricacies of being a professional and member of the community, but also realize the abundance of opportunities available within their city.

JA Finance Park provides students the rare opportunity to experience their personal financial futures first-hand. Students participate in an immersive simulation that enables them to develop skills to successfully navigate today’s complex economic environment and discover how decisions today can impact tomorrow.

Will Schofield, Superintendent, Hall County Schools, shared similar excitement for the impact this facility will have on his students, and expressed how “fortunate the district is to have an opportunity like this for our middle school students.” 

The launch of this engaging facility would not be possible without the support of Mike and Lynn Cottrell, as well as partnerships with participating school systems, and investment from the following partners who will have storefronts in the new facility: ADP, Andean Chevrolet, Associated Credit Union, City of Cumming, Delta Air Lines, Elavon, Engineered Floors, Georgia Power, Georgia State University, Georgia United Credit Union, MarketSource, North Georgia Community Foundation, Northside Hospital, Publix Super Markets Charities, RaceTrac, United Way of Hall County, United Way of Forsyth County and Zaxby’s.

Five Years of Discovery

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The first ever JA Discovery Center in Georgia opened in 2013. As the fifth anniversary nears and the opening of the third location is on the horizon, the long-term impact on student engagement and aspirations is evident. The success of these immersive facilities lies at the convergence of driven business and community partners, passionate education leaders, engaged volunteers and a model built around expertise in experiential learning. The uniquely collaborative design of JA Discovery Centers provide a student experience that’s more relevant, authentic and experiential than ever before.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS
With partners across virtually all sectors and industries, students are exposed to things they may have never known existed. From specific positions at companies, to entire industries, students get a hands-on look at the myriad of possibilities that exist in their own communities and across the globe.

Along with the real-world exposure comes the authentic brand experiences and application of learning through brands they recognize within JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. The next time they are at Chick-fil-A, they’ll remember that there’s an entire corporate organization behind every chicken sandwich served, or that texting their friends on their AT&T phone doesn’t come for free, and that budgeting is necessary to maintain that luxury. These connections reinforce the lessons learned and help students retain the knowledge as they return to the classroom.

EDUCATORS
Partnerships with the education community are at the very foundation of the impact of the JA BizTown and JA Finance Park experience. By working hand-in-hand with school system leaders, we are able to ensure consistency from the delivery of the in-class curriculum to the experience on-site. It allows for a constant cycle of feedback from educators on how we can make the experience better suited to their students, and ensures prolonged impact in the way students think about education and prepare for their futures.

Another encouraging trend beyond the student outcomes is the effect that the experience has on educators. After seeing the connections and ah-ha moments in their students, teachers often state that they are motivated to incorporate more real-world connectivity and authenticity into their own teaching. They are driven to engage their students in day-to-day learning, and help them to understand how and why their lessons matter in life beyond
the classroom walls.

VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers who spend a day, and often numerous days throughout the year, with students at a JA Discovery Center are more than your average ‘feel-good’ volunteer. They coach groups of students through the simulations, but they don’t stop at just helping them check off their to-do lists. They give advice, help foster innovative thinking, and emphasize the importance of communication, collaboration and goal setting.

Throughout all of that, they share their own experiences. Things that worked for them, things that didn’t. Lessons they learned through their successes as well as failures, and wisdom they’ve received that has stood the test of time. It’s this personal connection that helps bring the experience to life for the students. They have the opportunity to hear from an adult other than a parent or teacher, often times about careers and situations they may have never
considered before now.

As we prepare for the opening of the third JA Discovery Center, and more in coming years, we plan to stay intently focused on what continually drives us: to inspire and empower students with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to thrive; to build better futures for themselves and their community.

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AIG and Junior Achievement prepare local students for their futures

Atlanta, GA — Students will learn important entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness skills, thanks to a generous grant from AIG that will be implemented throughout the school year, impacting more than 700 students in JA BizTown and JA Finance Park.

JA BizTown provides students the opportunity to experience their futures firsthand by allowing students to interact within a simulated economy and take on the challenge of fueling a business. The students not only discover the intricacies of being a professional and member of the community, but also the abundance of opportunities available within their city.

At JA Finance Park, students participate in an immersive simulation that enables them to develop skills to successfully navigate today’s complex economic environment and discover how decisions today can impact tomorrow.

“One of JA of Georgia’s main goals is to empower young people to own their economic success by helping them understand the benefits of saving, budgeting and investing,” said Juan McGruder, Senior Vice President & CDO, JA of Georgia. “We’re thankful to AIG for providing the resources necessary through this partnership to help our young people grow up to be successful adults.”

This is the fourth year AIG has gifted funds to support Junior Achievement programs to help students gain the knowledge and skills they need to make smart academic and economic choices. This year’s grant will serve schools in 22 locations across the U.S. and world. As part of the partnership, AIG employees will engage as volunteers in JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, coaching students through their choices and sharing their own experiences. 

AIG Volunteer talks with students in JA BizTown at the JA Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center

AIG Volunteer talks with students in JA BizTown at the JA Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center

“Junior Achievement is a natural partner for AIG, as we value programming that teaches young people how to make investments and take opportunities to improve their lives, such as saving for college or starting a business,” said Robin Wisely, Commercial Insurance IT.

Junior Achievement’s programs are in direct correlation with AIG’s commitment to supporting financial education and workforce readiness.

About AIG

AIG is a leading global insurance organization serving customers in more than 100 countries and jurisdictions. AIG companies serve commercial, institutional, and individual customers through one of the most extensive worldwide property-casualty networks of any insurer. In addition, AIG companies are leading providers of life insurance and retirement services in the United States. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Additional information about AIG can be found at www.aig.com | YouTube: www.youtube.com/aig | Twitter: @AIGinsurance | LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/aig

AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. For additional information, please visit our website at www.aig.com. All products and services are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. Products or services may not be available in all countries, and coverage is subject to actual policy language. Non-insurance products and services may be provided by independent third parties. Certain property-casualty coverages may be provided by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds, and insureds are therefore not protected by such funds.