From Kindergarten to Career: What a JA District Partnership Makes Possible

Let’s take a trip back in time to kindergarten. The world still feels wonderfully small. Our classroom is a place to learn how to read, make friends, solve problems, and imagine what we might become someday. We may not know what a career is yet. We certainly aren’t thinking about a résumé, a paycheck, or our first job. But this is where the journey with Junior Achievement begins.

A volunteer walks into the classroom, not as a teacher, but as someone from the community who brings their story and a little bit of the real world with them. Students begin learning that businesses and communities work together, that money has a purpose, that choices matter, and that we have the power to shape what our future can look like.

Year after year, JA volunteers come back. They return to the classroom every year, bringing a new lesson about the real world with them. A student who first met a JA volunteer in kindergarten may see another volunteer in elementary school, then again in middle school and high school.

The faces may change, but the message remains consistent: Your future is full of possibilities.

Flash forward. We’re now fifth graders. What we were just learning about in our classrooms is about to become something much bigger. We’re going to JA BizTown.

We walk through the doors and suddenly, the world we’ve been learning about feels real. We’re no longer just talking about businesses, careers, money or making choices. We’re stepping into a community where we have a job to do. We have responsibilities. We earn a paycheck. We make decisions. We interact with other businesses and community members. For a day, we get to experience what it feels like to be part of the working world.

Now it’s time for middle school. We’re navigating many new changes and experiences. We’re beginning to think more seriously about who we are and where we might fit into the world. Once again, the JA volunteer is right there to meet us.

They return to the classroom, connecting lessons about future skill sets to the lives we are living right now. We’re learning about the skills employers are looking for and how the choices we make today can influence where we go tomorrow.

And now, we’re back to visiting Junior Achievement. This time, it’s JA Finance Park and this experience is coming at just the right time.

We’re starting to think about getting our first job and making more decisions for ourselves. At JA Finance Park, those decisions become tangible. We’re working through a budget, learning about careers, housing, transportation, family needs, and unexpected expenses. We’re making choices and seeing how those choices affect the life we’re building, and along the way, we’re building on an important lesson: the choices we make today are shaping the opportunities of tomorrow.

Now we’re in high school. We’re thinking about our future even more. The questions are changing. What am I good at? What do I want to do? Where can I work? What comes after graduation?

Through a JA Job Shadow experience, we’re getting the opportunity to step into the professional world and see careers up close. We meet with employers, ask questions, observe what a workplace actually feels like, and, most importantly, connect what we’re learning in school to what we may do in our future careers.

And then something happens. The classroom, the volunteer visits, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park, and JA Job Shadowing all start to connect. What once felt like separate experiences becomes part of one bigger journey.

For some of us, that journey continues into 3DE. Now, we’re not just learning about the world of work. We’re working alongside business professionals, tackling real-world challenges, and developing the skills we’ll need beyond the classroom. We’re learning how to think critically, communicate, collaborate, solve problems, and see ourselves as capable contributors in the world around us.

And when we look back, we can see that the journey started years ago. It started with a volunteer walking into our kindergarten classroom. It continued because that volunteer, and others like them, kept showing up. And it grew through elementary school, expanded through middle school, and became more connected to our future in high school.

That is what a JA district partnership makes possible.

It Takes a District to Build the Journey

Behind every one of these experiences is a school district that said yes. Yes, to opening the classroom door to a community volunteer. Yes, to allowing students to experience JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. Yes, to connecting students with employers and career opportunities. Yes, to preparing students not just for graduation, but for what comes next.

A district partnership with Junior Achievement is more than scheduling a program. It is a commitment to giving students opportunities to learn, experience, and connect with the world beyond their classroom.

And that commitment can look different in every community. Some districts begin the journey in the elementary classroom. Others bring students to JA BizTown or JA Finance Park. Some extend the experience through middle school, high school, Job Shadows, and 3DE.

Together, these different levels of partnership create something bigger: a continuum of experience that grows with students.

Our 2026–2027 District Partners

We are proud to recognize the school districts and schools partnering with Junior Achievement of Central Iowa for the 2026–2027 school year.

Marshalltown Community School District: K–8, BizTown, Finance Park, 3DE

Van Meter Community School District: K–5, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park, 3DE

Ballard Community School District: K–8, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park, 3DE

Ankeny Community School District: K–12, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park

Bondurant-Farrar Community School District: K–12, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park

Boone Community School District: K–12, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park

Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District: K–8, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park

Diocese of Des Moines / Dowling Catholic: 5–8, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park

Gilbert Community School District: K–8, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park

Urbandale Community School District: K–12, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park

Waukee Community School District: Grades 4–8, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park

More Than Districts

They are classrooms. They are teachers who welcome volunteers into their schools. They are business professionals who take time away from their work to invest in a student. And most importantly, they are students.

We’re talking about the kindergarten students who raise their hands when a JA volunteer asks what they want to be when they grow up. The fifth grader who walks through the doors of JA BizTown and proudly puts on their employee badge. The middle school student who starts thinking differently about money and the choices they’ll make. The student at JA Finance Park, who realizes that a career is more than a job; it is part of the life they want to build. The high school student who steps into a workplace through a Job Shadow and suddenly sees a possibility for their future. And the 3DE student who realizes that they have something valuable to contribute right now.

That is the journey. It begins small. It grows year after year. And with the support of our district partners, volunteers, and business community, it can continue all the way from kindergarten to career.

To our 2026–2027 district partners: thank you for saying yes to your students. Because the future of our communities begins in our classrooms. We’re excited for a big year ahead!