Fairfax County eighth graders are learning that the best things in life aren’t free…but with good budgeting and smart choices, arts and entertainment can fit into their budgets.
These life lessons are possible thanks to a new partnership between Wolf Trap and Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, whose JA Finance Park® program provides financial literacy curriculum and immersive, real-life budgeting simulations to all 14,000 Fairfax County eighth grade students each year.
Courtney Houston, an eight-grader at Dwight Eisenhower Middle School in Laurel, walked into the Junior Achievement Finance Park in Landover Thursday morning for a school field trip. For the next four hours, Houston said, she would take on the financial responsibilities of an adult with her own simulated credit score, career and salary, spouse, children and debt history.
Zoree Jones, a second-generation JA student and a freshman at Patriot High School in Nokesville, Virginia, is used to giving speeches. Over the last two years, she has both delivered the winning speech at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Oratorical Contest and won the Spotsylvania County (Virginia) Great Debate in 2015, among other acomplishments. So it was no wonder that Zoree wowed the JA Worldwide Board of Governors when she addressed them about her participation in the 2016 JA of Greater Washington Entrepreneurship Summit, where she received the Rising Star Award.
JA of Greater Washington is proud to announce that it will be partnering with The Safeway Foundation to fulfill a Storefront Partnership at the forthcoming JA Finance Park Montgomery County.
Many young people don't yet have a concept of how expensive it can be to feed a family. As the Grocery Storefront partner at JA Finance Park Montgomery County, The Safeway Foundation will play a critical role in challenging students to think about their spending decisions and how they will balance weeknight meals and the inevitable last-minute trips to the grocery store.
District of Columbia native Vernon Davis has come full circle.
The Redskins tight end was one of the speakers at the team's '4th and Life' event at FedEx Field Monday.
The annual gathering brings together local high school football players, who hear from Redskins players about how to succeed - on and off the field - after high school.
