Junior Achievement of North Florida is looking for businesses to join them for this year’s JA Inspire program which will be taught to all eighth-grade students in Duval County Public Schools.
Businesses can sign up to sponsor and participate in the virtual career exploration program which introduces students to career opportunities through classroom lessons followed by a virtual career fair.
JA Inspire is the first step in Duval County Public Schools’ new Duval Ready program. JA Inspire was launched as a pilot program in January of 2021 and expanded to include all eighth-grade students in Duval County Public Schools in the fall of last year. The program for this school year has been enhanced to meet a state mandate that requires schools to provide career exploration and work readiness programs to middle school students.
JA Inspire’s curriculum has been revised to lead the students to specific lessons that fulfill the state’s mandate to provide a way for students to find a career that will suit their talents and values. The students will be exposed to careers in categories including arts and creative; business administration, finance and marketing; education and student resources; health and biomedical; human services, hospitality, tourism, and sports; law, government, public safety, corrections, and security; STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics); and transportation, logistics, construction, and manufacturing.
The students will participate in five in-class JA Inspire lessons followed by a virtual career expo. The virtual career fair experience has also been improved with updated visuals to provide a more modern feel and gamification and a scavenger hunt have been added to drive students to important content. Students will enter the virtual convention center into a virtual lobby where there will be an information center and an auditorium where they can participate in webinars along with other students. They will also be able to visit company booths with pamphlets, videos and other resources developed by the industry leaders.
Companies interested in sponsoring and participating in JA Inspire can contact Tiffany Guthrie at (904) 398-9944, ext.230 or [email protected]. More information can be found here.
