Fifth-graders at Kuemper Catholic Schools got to experience new roles as bankers, restaurant managers, construction workers, doctors and more during the Junior Achievement’s Biz Town Simulator program last week. The roleplay wrapped up several weeks of in-class learning about finances, economics and business with the visit to the mini town in Des Moines. Students were assigned roles prior to the outing, and were tasked with preparing for the day by writing ads for print and radio—as there was even a DJ and radio station playing at Biz Town. Class members were also given the opportunity to campaign and hold an election for the mayoral position. They took out loans, balanced checkbooks and even invested in the stock market. By the end of the day, a newspaper was published, a Citizen of the Day was elected and students determined if their business or organization was a success. Matt Lujano, President of Westside State Bank and parent of Benicio Lujano, volunteered to help with the program and says, “What a wonderful experience it was for both the students and the volunteers. As someone who sees, on the daily basis, the issues that people deal with from not understanding the basics of financing, I know the importance of this in daily life.” Lujano added that it is refreshing to see these lessons taught in ways that will resonate with students more than a couple of days spent on pages in a workbook. Photos of the student’s day at Biz Town can be found below.
