Arete Scholars Partners With Junior Achievement

Arete Scholars is pleased to announce a new partnership with Junior Achievement, one of the nation’s largest and most successful career readiness programs for K-12 students. Last year alone, Junior Achievement (JA) touched the lives of more than 4.4 million students in over 190,000 classrooms.

“We are thrilled about this partnership with Arete Scholars,” said Kimberly Baker, Director of Programs for Junior Achievement Georgia.

Under the agreement, volunteers with Arete and JA will deliver kindergarten-12th grade programs that foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills. Using Junior Achievement's unique delivery system, schools will be provided - at no cost - the training, materials, and support necessary to bolster the chances for student success.

“We know that our partner schools offer Arete students a much greater chance of reaching their full potential,” said Jeff Bailey, Executive Vice President responsible for programming at Arete Scholars. “However, we also recognize that many of our partner schools are working overtime just to help students catch up academically, and do not always have the time or resources to offer help in other areas that are central to future success.”

At the invitation of participating schools, Arete Scholars will work with JA to arrange for business people and local community leaders to visit classrooms throughout the semester and school year. Volunteers will share their personal workforce experience with students, while teaching sound economic principles and reinforcing class curricula.

The program starts with elementary grades, and on that strong foundation, will eventually help students consider long-term questions like: What am I going to be when I grow up? How much education will I need to pull it off? Where am I going to live? What will I drive? How much will all of it cost? How do I get there from here?

Independent evaluations have shown that participating students demonstrate a significant understanding of economics and business concepts. Across the board, JA graduates report being better prepared for the workplace and post-secondary success, particularly in areas like personal money management, performance on job interviews, and demonstrating a competitive edge in the workplace.

“The new partnership with Junior Achievement is just one of the ways that we will continue to expand our service to economically disadvantaged children,” said Derek Monjure, Executive Director at Arete Scholars. “In addition to career readiness, our students and schools will have access to programs that help develop strong character and build healthy relationships.”

If you have questions about the Junior Achievement partnership or would like for your corporation or school to participate this year, please email us as soon as possible at jbailey@aretescholars.org or call 877-55-ARETE.