This is a big day for 6th grader Addie Dempsey.
“I wanted to be mayor of BizTown because I felt like it was an important role and takes a lot of responsibility,” she says.
The mayor of BizTown has a long list of job requirements.
“I do a lot of speeches and I get to meet up with all the CEOs,” says Dempsey.
Before we open the doors to Biztown, Mayor Addie knows what her role as mayor will be.
“You have to work really hard and give a lot of effort,” adds Addie. “Otherwise your town could fail and that could be sad for people, so you just have to help them.”
Addie and all DCG Middle School sixth grade students spent a day at BizTown, capping off a Junior Achievement lesson, connecting classroom learning to real-world experiences.
“The first unit was financial literacy. They looked at the difference between credit cards and debit cards and then they talked about what it takes to run a business,” shares DCG Middle School Teacher Dianna Ridgeway. “The last two weeks we worked within our teams, so they got to know their teams before we came.”
There are a lot of teams playing important roles at BizTown. Technology, medical care, construction – BizTown also has its own DJ.
“Just learning to work with each other and just getting to do it before they go out and have a job is going to be a great experience for them,” shares Ridgeway.
There are so many different roles for our students to play at BizTown and they’ve all found a connection to this one-of-a-kind experience.
“They worked so hard to get here and they are getting rewarded for all of their hard work,” says Ridgeway. “You can just tell it’s been a joy for them so far, and I’m excited to hear about all their memories.”
A simulated experience, with incredible takeaways, even from our mayor.
“I feel like I can help other people and I can make the world a better place,” says Mayor Addie.