Junior Achievement USA and CrossKnowledge—the distance learning brand of John Wiley and Sons, Inc.—today announced a joint partnership that will bring digital learning solutions to thousands of students and educators. As part of the agreement, CrossKnowledge has donated the use of its Learning Management System (LMS) to Junior Achievement USA (JA) for the next five years (starting in 2016) through the CrossKnowledge Foundation. This in-kind contribution is one of the largest of its kind in the history of JA.
To support its digital delivery strategy, JA selected CrossKnowledge out of hundreds of potential partners to help achieve this goal. The LMS allows students, educators and JA's network of more than 218,000 classroom volunteers to easily access JA curriculum using an electronic device and internet connection. The blended learning model also supports an in-person delivery of curriculum content to students in the classroom, helping to prepare them for the workforce and life after graduation.
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to empowering young people to own their economic success. The organization serves 4.6 million students each year in 113 U.S. markets and another 5.6 million students in 121 countries worldwide.
"JA is in the midst of an historic transformation that will allow our organization to pair JA volunteer mentors with digitally delivered curriculum as part of a blended-learning experience that will positively impact the students we serve," said Jack E. Kosakowski, President and CEO, Junior Achievement USA. "CrossKnowledge and its parent company Wiley have made a transformational gift that will eventually change the lives of millions. We cannot thank them enough for their generosity and dedication to our mission of inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in the global economy."
It is estimated that nearly 300,000 Junior Achievement users will access CrossKnowledge programs in 2016 and that figure is expected to reach 1.6 million in 2020. "We are pleased to provide Junior Achievement users with a complete range of courses that will help them develop the critical skillsets needed in the 21st century organizations and succeed in their future career," said Christophe Peron, Head of North America, CrossKnowledge.
"Wiley, through our CrossKnowledge brand is proud to support the future generations of business leaders who are part of the Junior Achievement program," said Mark Allin President and CEO, Wiley.