Program Spotlight: A Day with the Mayor of JA BizTown
On a bustling day in JA BizTown, the newly elected mayor, Ja’kai Collins, was “learning to expect the unexpected” as he watched over an election and kept Oscar J. Tolmas City Hall running smoothly.
Meanwhile, the citizens of JA BizTown, 5th graders from Ethel Schoeffner Elementary in St. Charles Parish, were busy applying for business loans at Capital One Bank before getting to the hard work of running shops like Chick-fil-A, Palmisano, Signworx, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Laitram, and United Way of Southeast Louisiana. This activity was the culmination of weeks of classroom work preparing these 5th graders to take on adult roles for a day at Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans’s BizTown facility.
Imagine a city where young consumers rush to the bank to deposit their paychecks, salesclerks create merchandise displays, and reporters interview local business leaders to get the most up-to-date story. Across the way, the restaurant prepares for the lunch hour and the mayor meets with business managers to get an understanding of current economic trends. JA BizTown is an indoor center that contains a mini-city with shops sponsored by local businesses as displayed by authentic signage and the actual marketplace appearances of the shops’ sponsors, bringing the town to life for 5th and 6th grade students.
Before visiting JA BizTown, students complete pre-visit curriculum where they learn basic economic principles such as how to manage their personal bank account. They also participate in job interviews and learn about their new workplace and the job they will perform. Jobs range from retail sales professionals, accountants, business managers, medical professionals to TV and newspaper reporters. Each shop has a CEO, CFO, and staff. And of course, there is a mayor of JA BizTown.
On this exhilarating day, Mayor Collins, recently elected by his 5th grade peers, expressed gratitude for his classmates’ confidence in electing him to govern JA BizTown. He said he quickly learned “how much responsibility it takes to be mayor.” In addition to ensuring the day’s vote—a ballot on whether Chick-fil-A or Raising Cane’s is the preferred choice of BizTown’s citizens—runs smoothly, Mayor Collins also welcomed tourists visiting JA BizTown on their way to a special event happening next door. The additional revenue brought to JA BizTown as these tourists spent JA BizTown Bucks on goods and services was welcomed by all, and the employees and citizens of JA BizTown enjoyed interacting with visiting representatives from nearby nonprofits and businesses, entrepreneurs, and public officials.
Unexpectedly, Mayor Collins was asked if he would be available to give remarks at the event happening adjacent to JA BizTown, so he quickly wrote up a speech before entering a room of over 80 community and business leaders from the Greater New Orleans region. After an introduction by Clark Todd, President & COO of Blessey Marine Services, Inc. and long-serving board member of Junior AchievementMayor Collins stepped up to the microphone to address the crowd. He remained undaunted by the pressure, delivering a very well-received speech about “this amazing experience” as Mayor of JA BizTown. Mayor Collins was cheered on by the event’s panelists that included Joseph I. Giarrusso, III, New Orleans City Council Member, District A; Royce Duplessis, Louisiana State Senator, District 5; Walt Leger, President & CEO, New Orleans & Co.; Greg Rusovich, CEO, Transoceanic Development, Dr. Avis Williams, Superintendent, NOLA Public Schools, and Michael Hecht, President & CEO, GNO, Inc., who moderated the panel discussion on the state of New Orleans and its future.
Mayor Collin’s teachers commented on how much the mayor had developed over the past year at his elementary school, as they beamed with pride watching him handle his mayoral responsibilities with assurance. In the presence of Mayor Ja’kai Collins, everyone in the room recognized the impact of Junior Achievement and the value of JA BizTown, which helps young people develop the competence, confidence, and character to make smart academic and economic decisions.
As the day wrapped up, Mayor Collins checked that each shop had paid off their business loans and citizens had completed their tasks before announcing the results of the day’s vote: Chick-fil-A took the prize as the preferred chicken for JA BizTown citizens, and the citizens of JA BizTown returned to their school tired but far wiser about the real-world activities of running a business and being a good citizen.
JA BizTown shop sponsorships allow Junior Achievement to provide a host of learning opportunities to more students across the region. Our state-of-the-art learning center provides space for student programs as well as space for public events, community meetings, galas, JA Board of Governors meetings, trainings for educators and volunteers, workshops, and other opportunities for marketing exposure for our shop sponsors. To learn more about JA BizTown shop sponsorship, please contact kelly@jagno.org.