Teachers, students attend JA luncheon

Junior Achievement information

Junior Achievement serving Van Wert County was privileged to have students and educators from all three Van Wert county school systems recently attend a luncheon where the students shared their JA experience from the fall session of classes. The luncheon was graciously hosted by Willow Bend Country Club and was sponsored by Eaton Corporation of Van Wert.

Van Wert Elementary School was represented by fifth grade educator Ashley McElroy and her student Tyra McClain.Tyra spoke about her experience as mayor when the class attended Biztown and she talked about how this JA capstone program gave her and her classmates insight into being an entrepreneur, running a business, paying back loans, business leadership, and writing checks to pay bills. Tyra proudly announced that all but one business was able to pay back its loan.

Crestview Local schools were represented by teacher Ashley Marks and her student Lulu Ross. Lulu created a poster that featured some of the highlights of her JA second grade curriculum and the many things she learned from the Junior Achievement classroom volunteer.

Educator Paula Johnson and student Sami Seller represented Lincolnview Local Schools and Sami recounted her trip to Finance Park with her class.

Sami said she liked how each student was given a different life scenario and they had to think about how they were going to use the income from their “job” to first fulfill their basic needs versus fulfilling their wants.

Students also learned about credit, savings, and, in some scenarios, how to provide for a family on a budget. Sami said her trip to Finance Park was a real eye opening experience for her and her classmates.

Junior Achievement of Van Wert County serves over 1,200 students countywide with its message of financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. JA is funded from a grant received from The Van Wert County Foundation.

Local business leaders and volunteers work hand in hand with educators to accomplish JA’s mission. Those interested in becoming a volunteer for Junior Achievement can contact Julie Schaufelberger (julie.schaufelberger@ja.org) for more information.