Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana will cut the ribbon Friday on a redesigned City Hall storefront inside its JA BizTown learning center in Elkhart.
The new space was made possible through support from the weIMPACT Group, DJ Construction, and the City of Elkhart. It will serve as the civic hub of BizTown, where students take on roles like mayor, attorney, and elections officer to learn how government and community leadership work.
JA experiential learning manager Rachel Hughie says the program gives fourth- through sixth-graders a hands-on way to connect classroom lessons to real-world experience.
“Students are taking on jobs and running a simulated town for the day,” Hughie said. “We have 14 storefronts here in Elkhart that represent the local community.”
She says it’s also a fun way to teach financial literacy, including a few surprises.
“When kids come to BizTown they get two paychecks,” she said. “They realize there’s some money missing. It’s their taxes, and it’s that aha moment for them.”
Last year, more than 4,000 students and 750 volunteers participated in JA BizTown. The ribbon cutting for the new City Hall storefront happens Friday at 10:15 a.m. at JA BizTown, located at 1025 N. Michigan Street in Elkhart.
