Junior Achievement has had a presence in classrooms worldwide for over 75 years.
It is focused on giving young people the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to understand our global economy and make their way in the world.
In August of this year, International Education Services (IES), led by Mary Goetter, partnered with JA of Southwestern New England to develop and implement the first JA Global Connection, a curriculum intended to teach Connecticut high school youth the basics of entrepreneurship in the global marketplace, as well as an understanding of different cultural perspectives, knowledge without which America's up and coming generation will not be able to lead in the 21st century global economy.
The JA Global Connection was built around a 5 day program at Yale University that brought together 20 high school students from China and 20 of their counterparts from Wallingford, Connecticut.
The JA Global Connection curriculum focused on teaching innovation, ethics, social responsibility, leadership, and business basics. It was presented in a mix of classroom instruction, guest speakers from the business community, and excursions to innovative companies such as ESPN. The week also included a day in NYC at the Stock Exchange, hosted by CNBC's Bill Griffeth. At the conclusion of this weeklong series, student teams presented a draft business plan for the JA Enterprise, a student-led business, which they are presently implementing and will run throughout the 2013-2014 school year.
In the final phase of the JA Global Connection Program, the American and Chinese students will reunite for a one week in Shanghai, China, next summer. Here they will share and discuss their JA Enterprise experiences.
International Education Services and Mary Goetter are proud to have the opportunity to be so closely involved with JA in orchestrating this extraordinary experience for Connecticut's young people.
Click here to learn more about our recent 2015 Junior Achievement Global Connection
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