Exchange
City Curriculum
Students
participate in a nine week unit of instruction for the
Exchange City (R) program. During the first six weeks
students learn about the responsibilities of citizenship
and basic economic concepts such as workforce readiness,
supply and demand, pricing, budgeting, and advertising.
After six weeks of preparatory class work, the students
or "citizens" of Exchange City visit a 7,000 square foot
city replica where they operate the City for a day as
its government officials, business owners, employees,
consumers, and producers. After their day in the City,
students complete an additional two weeks of classroom
study where they discuss the successes and failures of
their Exchange City day. Students remember Exchange City
as a profound and exciting learning experience long after
their visit.
History
The
first Exchange City(R) was created in Kansas City in
the early 1980's by the Learning Exchange - a non-profit
education organization whose mission is to enable educators
to imagine, investigate, and create new visions of teaching
and learning to prepare students for a rapidly changing
world. The need to create an Exchange City program was
identified by local Kansas City employers who commented
that the students and future employees they were eager
to hire lacked the necessary skills to be productive
workers and responsible citizens.
Since
opening in 1982, over 200,000 students have participated
in the Exchange City program in Kansas City. Junior Achievement
is partnering with the Learning Exchange to offer the
Exchange City program to more students throughout the
world. Starting this year, over 200,000 students annually
will participate in Exchange Cities across the United
States.
Local
History
Business,
education, and community leaders traveled to Indianapolis
in November of 1998 to determine if a local Exchange
City program would benefit the students in Palm Beach,
Martin and Hendry Counties. Their overwhelmingly positive
response led to the first Exchange City site in the southeastern
United States.
Students
in the School District of Palm Beach County began the
Exchange City curriculum in the fall of 2000 with the
first students from Starlight Cove Community Elementary
School visiting the actual Exchange City site on October
24th. Before the academic year concluded, over 3,800
students from 28 schools would participate.
Over
the next two school years, enrollment in the Exchange
City program will increase to 6,000 then 12,000 students
annually. The Stiles-Nicholson Center for Free Enterprise
The
7,000 square foot Exchange City site is part of the Stiles-Nicholson
Center for Free Enterprise. The Center also houses a
community meeting room, a smaller conference room, and
the offices for Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches
Inc.
When
not used for student learning or training sessions, the
Stiles-Nicholson Center is available for groups seeking
function space for business meetings, training sessions,
or even a unique social setting. For more information
on holding functions at the Stiles-Nicholson Center,
please contact the JA office at info@juniorachievement.com or (561) 242-9468.
Exchange
City School Application: Word | Pdf
