Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is JA BizTown?

It is a 9,000 square foot indoor mini-town comprised of 14 businesses, each with a unique storefront design, and a Town Square that includes grass, trees, park benches, and a waterfall. Students learn about business, economics, government, and banking in class before coming to operate the town for a day as the Mayor, a CEO, a Retail Sales Manager, a Real Estate Leasing Agent, an Electric Meter Reader, a TV Anchor, a CFO or any of the other dozens of jobs it takes to run the town.

How is JA BizTown different from other JA programs?

In regular classroom programs, teachers are responsible for discipline, but take a less-active role in classroom participation as volunteers deliver a pre-designed curriculum to students over 5-8 weekly classroom visits. For JA BizTown, teachers integrate the pre-designed lessons into their current classroom curriculum to teach concepts and skills required by the State Standards for Math, Language Arts & Communications, and Social Studies, especially in Economics and Government. The capstone event of the program is the visit to JA BizTown. Fourteen volunteers are recruited by the school for a one-day commitment to join the group at JA BizTown to help students in each business stay on task, to encourage them to make their own decisions, and to help them learn how to problem-solve on their own. Both volunteers and teachers are required to attend a mandatory 3 hour training session before their school’s JA BizTown visit.

How many schools visit JA BizTown each day?

Usually one. However, each school must have at least 70 students participating or they will be asked to partner with another school to share a day in JA BizTown.

How can my school or child get involved in JA BizTown?

School administrators and 4th, 5th, or 6th grade teachers can call to request an application to participate in JA BizTown and fax it to 615-297-8514. Contact Rachel Dyer, Director of JA BizTown at 615-627-1194 or racheld@janash.com for more information. Parents who would like their child to be involved with JA BizTown, should encourage principals and/or teachers to submit an application.

How can I sign-up to volunteer in JA BizTown?

Once your school has been accepted and its teachers have been trained, it is up to them to decide how they will recruit volunteers. Many schools will send home a letter to parents asking for interested persons to sign-up. Some schools which have a high level of parental involvement may hold a lottery to select volunteers. Others may personally invite business partners or other community leaders to serve as volunteers. If interested in volunteering for JA BizTown, you should contact your child's teacher to let them know of your availability.