Gig Harbor Undressed

Junior Achievement World and PSD

I had a chance to travel to Auburn this afternoon with Terry Bouck and some other members of the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce to witness the “Celebrate Junior Achievement Holiday Luncheon.”  Wow!  I had no idea what JA World was all about, but came home completely impressed and sold on the value of this great program.   Junior Achievement of Washington is designed to teach our 5th and 8th grade students several of the life skills that they will need to give them the brightest futures they can have. 

The JA World was divided into two wings; the 8th graders were in the JA Finance Park while the 5th graders were busy running JA BizTown.  These students were given 4-6 weeks of classroom prep, all culminating in this one day event at Auburn’s JA World where the kids run the show.  They have jobs, pay checks, kids, bills to pay, cars to buy, decisions to make, debt to manage…it’s really an incredible environment.  I’d encourage you to visit their website to learn more details.

PSD Superintendent Terry Bouck told me that his goal was to have every single 5th grader and every single 8th grader in our district be able to participate in this program.  Obviously, this costs money, largely in the area of transportation.  It also requires a good deal of volunteers, both parents and community business people.  After listening to Peninsula High School senior Allison Bill sing the National Anthem, and hearing the stories of 2 youngsters involved in the program currently (including a 15 year old in Tacoma’s Juvenile Detention Center, who has an amazing perspective on her life and her future), and the story of a JA alum who has done amazing things with his life, I was more than happy to support this program.  I’m sold on helping Superintendent Bouck achieve his goal of bringing this program fully into all of the PSD’s 5th and 8th grades.