JA Finance Park - (ENTRY LEVEL)

JA Finance Park is Junior Achievement’s capstone program for personal financial planning and career exploration. This program, comprising a curriculum and a simulation, helps students in grades 7–12 build a foundation on which they can make intelligent financial decisions that last a lifetime, including decisions related to income, expenses, savings, and credit.

There are two levels of content available for JA Finance Park: Entry Level and Advanced. The topics and concepts track closely with national financial literacy standards and are intended to prompt students to begin thinking about and planning for their financial future. This educator-led classroom curriculum culminates with a visit to JA Finance Park, a realistic on-site or mobile facility, or virtually in the classroom, where students engage with volunteers and put into practice what they’ve learned by developing a personal budget.

In the Entry Level curriculum geared toward middle school students (grades 7–8), a minimum of 13 lessons are offered in either a traditional classroom presentation format or a project-based learning (PBL) format. The Entry Level curriculum includes the following units: Income, Debit and Credit, Savings, Investing and Risk Management, and Budget+. Both traditional or PBL formats provide educators a method of delivery that will best meet the needs of their students. Additional extension activities are available for each lesson topic.