Edmondson Elementary student Brett Kingensmith, second from right on front row, and other BizTown students pose with members of the JA Board of Directors, who served as tour guides throughout the kid-run city.

Edmondson, Woodland students show what they learned
Brentwood Home Page news reports
Edmondson Elementary's Brett Klingensmith and Woodland Middle's Tori Windham were among eight students who described their favorite aspects of their job in a recent tour of JA BizTown.

The students hosted 50 members of the community in a special behind-the-scene look at their "town," a program operated by Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee.

JA BizTown is aimed at teaching 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students how to succeed in the workplace and run a thriving economy. Each student holds a job, earns a paycheck, makes purchases, and donates to philanthropy.

Klingensmith, who worked as a mail carrier in the Delivery Center, said his favorite part of the workday was delivering letters to other JA BizTown citizens.

“I thought going to the bank [to cash my paycheck] was fun and exciting,” Klingensmith added.

Windham worked as an anchor in the AT&T TV/Web Design Center.

The students, representing six schools in three counties, showed off everything they learned as they gave businesspeople and community members a rare opportunity to walk in the students’ shoes around the mini-city.

Students participate in realistic job interviews for the top three positions they would like to hold in JA BizTown, which gives the students valuable, real-world experience.

Guests also heard about the six weeks of preparation that occurs in the classroom prior to the day spent running JA BizTown.

 “The JA BizTown program is special here in Middle Tennessee not only because it is fun for the students, but because it is truly helping our kids become prepared for the real world,” said JA President Trent Klingensmith.

For more information on the JA BizTown program, please contact Rachel Dyer, director of JA BizTown, at 615-627-1194 or racheld@janash.com.