From left to right: Matthew Weber, State Board Director, Junior Achievement of New Jersey; Nicole Visceglia Rodgers, Executive Director, Corporate Relations, Federal Business Centers; Catherine Milone, President, Junior Achievement of New Jersey; Kimberley Harrington, New Jersey Commissioner, Department of Education; Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod, Executive Director, New Jersey School Boards Association.
EDISON, N.J., October 27, 2017 – Junior Achievement of New Jersey (JANJ) held an information session aimed at letting education stakeholders know about its enhanced financial literacy curriculum. The session showed school districts how they could use the JA Finance Park curriculum to help their students meet the 9.1 Standard graduation requirement in financial literacy. JA’s financial literacy program fully aligns with the state mandate, and is used by districts to help their students meet the state’s curriculum standards needed to graduate from high school.
“We are excited about the possibilities for the financial literacy and career readiness curriculum, we call Finance Park,” said Catherine Milone, President of Junior Achievement of New Jersey. “It is so important to help students understand personal money management and personal finance. These are skills that will last a lifetime.”
In addition to remarks by Milone, Dr. Lawrence Feinsod, the Executive Director of the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) and State Education Commissioner Kimberley Harrington addressed the attending teachers, principals and supervisors who wanted to learn about how JA can support their students and districts.
“Regardless of the career path students choose to follow after high school, it will be essential that they know about financial management. I applaud the efforts of Junior Achievement of New Jersey in bringing content into context and answering the question, ‘When will I ever use this again?’ for our students,” Commissioner Harrington shared.
“Based on my many years as a teacher, principal and superintendent, I have reached the conclusion that education in financial literacy is one of the most pressing needs among our students and an area that requires greater effort and attention,” explained Dr. Feinsod. “I have also observed how Junior Achievement of New Jersey makes a difference. Today, JANJ reaches 70,000 New Jersey students annually through its various programs. And one of the most creative is JA Finance Park.”
JA Finance Park combines teacher taught lessons with a culminating hi-tech experiential field trip to the JA Education Center. Middle and high school students role-play as adults, and gain valuable personal finance and work readiness insight as they move through the simulation guided by volunteers from the New Jersey business community.
“I am proud that we are able to make this particular contribution to the education of high school students. Finance Park is practical information that high schoolers can begin applying and reaping the benefits of from day one,” said Milone.
