At JA BizTown, elementary schoolers run the show. Working as newspaper publishers, oil and gas engineers and nonprofit CEOs, these young leaders issue paychecks, promote their businesses and unwind from the workday with a little shopping — then head home on a school bus.
For more than 20 years, Junior Achievement of Oklahoma has led more than 100,000 students through the experiential learning program, building essential life skills and more civically engaged, financially literate adults.
This spring, JA is expanding its Tulsa facility to host up to 11,000 students a year, doubling the local capacity for BizTown participants in fourth through sixth grade. The new space will also host JA Finance Park, a similar program for high school students that’s currently housed at Tulsa Tech.
“We’re giving young people the skills they need, the knowledge they need to dream big, to know what the possibilities are,” said Erica Irvine, chief operating officer of JA Oklahoma.
JA’s 2025 alumni survey backs that up, with nine in 10 respondents reporting the program played an important role in shaping their belief in themselves, whether that be in personal and professional development, further education or careers.
As BizTown residents, students work in a variety of roles, all with real local and national businesses, from Chick-Fil-A to the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper and the H.F. Sinclair refinery. Each company commits to a three-year sponsorship, paying around $30,000 overall for a storefront for students.
Seventy-five students from Grandview and Keystone Public Schools were first to run the town this fall. Prior to becoming BizTown residents, they received 12 teacher-led lessons on things like writing checks, tracking expenses and voting. Together, they elected Keystone student Amreen Dawood to serve as mayor. She has a simple platform: Pay your bills, stay safe and have fun.
“Remember: it is a privilege and a responsibility of all citizens to vote,” Dawood said in her morning town square address. “We have several important issues to consider.”
Amanda Jeffrey and Taylor Simmons both participated in the program as kids and now facilitate it for the next generation.
“I so appreciate how it prepares students for topics they don’t learn every day,” Simmons said. She still carries the BizTown ID she had printed as a student.
“My eyes were opened to all the options I had,” Jeffrey said.
Without examples of steady careers and financial skills at home, BizTown gave her a glimpse of what she could achieve — and how to write a check.
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