FRANKLIN INITIATIVE
Franklin Initiative – A Community Partnership For Our Students A program of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, the Franklin Initiative provides career awareness and workforce development services for youth in Bloomington and Monroe County. By working with teachers and schools to offer real-world experiences, the Franklin Initiative gets young people excited about future education and careers by showing them the relevance and importance of their education to life and careers after graduation. Opportunities include:
Reality Store ® is a simulation that helps middle school students appreciate the ‘realities’ of life and achieve a better understanding of personal finance. In the Reality Store ® simulation, middle school students pretend they are a 28-year-old starting out in their life and career. In class beforehand, they will decide how many children they have (up to a maximum of 3), whether they are married or single, and, if they are married, whether their spouse works or is a “stay-at-home spouse.” They then choose a career based on their current GPA and are given a corresponding monthly salary for that career. Students then enter the Reality Store® to spend that monthly salary at 16 different tables representing different aspects of life as an adult. During the 2016-2017 school year, this program was run at 4 local middle schools, where over 900 students participated in these events. Over 150 community members volunteered to run the tables at these events this year.
I loved this! I learned so much information and this experience has really made me excited to go into the workforce and go into college." —JCMS student
16 | MCCSC
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