Junior Achievement of Georgia (JA) has started work on the Junior Achievement’s Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center, a state-of-the-art financial literacy and career readiness center in Building C at the Georgia World Congress Center.

JA is working in partnership with Atlanta Public Schools, DeKalb County Schools, Fulton County Schools and the Chick-fil-A Foundation to deliver the program to more than 30,000 metro Atlanta sixth through eighth grade students beginning this fall.

The Chick-fil-A Foundation is contributing $5.1 million toward the $9.1 million project – primarily to underwrite the 10-year lease at the convention center for nearly 50,000 square feet. The contribution is the Foundation’s first major capital commitment.

The center’s experiential learning program will provide a 360-degree educational experience that begins in the classroom and culminates with a day at the interactive simulation venues JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. The on-site experience features a “mini-city” of simulated storefronts to teach students the importance of personal budgeting, career readiness and real-life adult responsibilities.

The project is part of JA’s commitment to building financial literacy, career readiness and improving the graduation rate among local students.

For more about JA and the project, visit georgia.ja.org.

Collin KelleyEditor

Collin Kelley has been the editor of Atlanta Intown for two decades and has been a journalist and freelance writer for 35 years. He’s also an award-winning poet and novelist.