Junior Achievement of Western PA is dedicated to educating K-12 students with programs of work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy/money management. Their experimental, hands-on programs provide students with tools such as leadership, teamwork, and decision-making skills. The CFFC awarded Junior Achievement of Western PA a Spring 2019 grant to support “Empowerment to the Youth of Fayette County.”
“It’s a collaborative effort with the school districts. Each school has different needs, so we help fill in the gaps of work readiness in the schools’ curriculum and provide artifacts that students can include in their portfolios,” explained Nicki Sliko, Education Program Manager.
Junior Achievement empowers students to make a connection between what they learn in school and how it can be applied in the real world, enhancing the relevance of their classroom learning and increasing their understanding of the value of staying in school.
Volunteer community mentors serve as career role models and provide real-world context to classroom topics through in-class instruction. In addition to teaching students important life skills such as saving money, balancing a checkbook, and how to find an keep a job, Junior Achievement also addresses important “soft” skills, such as communication and problem solving.
Once students understand the connection between education and local workplace opportunities, they can better envision how their developed skills can help strengthen the Fayette County workforce and community as a whole.
