Coronado Village Elementary fifth graders are getting a sneak peek into the real world of careers with BizTown! BizTown is a workshop provided by the Junior Achievement (JA) Chapter of San Diego. The JA’s website states that “Our goal is to help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace.” This year alone, the JA will engage over 10.6 million students worldwide in business-related programs.

This is the first ever trip for Coronado Village Elementary. Fifth grade, Erik Elderson, contacted the JA, only to find out that they were completely booked for the school year. Luckily, a date opened up and they were quickly able to attend. Jen Fisher, the JA BizTown Education Manager said that Coronado was “a wonderful school and the teachers did an excellent job preparing their students. There are 4 weeks of curriculum taught prior to the trip that they successfully pulled off on such short notice.” Another BizTown trip for next year is already in the works!

The fifth graders can experience working in a multitude of professions throughout a day at BizTown. The jobs range from working at Best Buy and Seaworld to becoming mayor and making political decisions. It’s a truly great experience for a child to explore different careers and think about what they want to be when they grow up.

The experience is valuable for kids who will grow up to work in professions of any type. Eleven-year-old Madison (who acted as the CEO of Union-Tribune) said, “Biztown is a grand opportunity to learn what it's like to be an adult and to be responsible for a job, paying bills and budgeting so you can buy the things you want.”

Fifth grader Madison smiles in the newspaper press room

Madison’s mom, Bridget, said that she “loved watching the 5th graders taking their jobs so seriously and working together to help their businesses be successful.” Teamwork, entrepreneurship, and leadership are some great life skills that can be learned in BizTown.  

For more information, visit http://www.jasandiego.org/2012/about_ja/ja_about.php

To see some videos regarding this fantastic program, click here: http://www.youtube.com/user/jasandiego/videos?sort=p&view=0

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Sophia Zaller

Online Editorial Intern

eCoronado.com                                                                                

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