About Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement USA (JA) is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for the future, and make smart academic and economic choices.

Junior Achievement programs – in the core content areas of work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy– ignite the spark in young people to experience and realize the opportunities and realities of work and life in the 21st century.

Junior Achievement is one of a few nonprofits to use independent, third-
party evaluators to gauge the impact of its programs. Since 1993, independent evaluators have conducted studies on Junior Achievement’s effectiveness. Findings prove that Junior Achievement has a positive impact in a number of critical areas. These results are available for free upon request. Summaries of the findings are also published in the JA Programs section at jausa.ja.org/programs.

Program Reach

Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans reached 37,129 students in 143 schools totaling 221,884 instructional contact hours during the 2023-2024 school year. JA programs are taught by volunteers in inner cities, suburbs, and rural areas throughout 13 parishes in Louisiana and 29 counties in Mississippi.

Junior Achievement’s 709 unique classroom volunteers come from all walks of life, including: business people, college students, parents, and retirees. These dedicated individuals are the backbone of our organization.

Purpose

Junior Achievement’s purpose is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.

A Brief History

Junior Achievement was founded in 1919 by Theodore Vail, president of American Telephone & Telegraph; Horace Moses, president of Strathmore Paper Co.; and Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts. Its first program, JA Company Program®, was offered to high school students on an after-school basis. In 1975, the organization entered the classroom with the introduction of Project Business for the middle grades. Over the last 39 years, Junior Achievement has expanded its activities and broadened its scope to include in-school and after-school students. New Orleans civic leaders, Percival Stern and Marion “Hoss” Kessler, brought Junior Achievement to New Orleans after reviewing the Junior Achievement program operating elsewhere in the U.S. Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans was officially incorporated on February 16, 1955. Official papers were signed in the board room of Whitney Bank.