Junior Achievement USA^® (JA) has recognized the staff and board of directors of Junior Achievement of Central Iowa with the The 5-Star Award. For the first time in over 20 years, JA of Central Iowa received the highest level of honors from JA USA which recognizes staff and boards in JA Areas that meet or exceed JA USA’s operational standards for compliance, student impact, operational efficiency, financial stability and sustainability. Specific criteria for this distinguished honor include student impact growth, ending the year with a surplus; and meeting standards for debt ratio, current ratio and cash-on-hand. Operating at this level indicates sound financial footing and puts Junior Achievement of Central Iowa on target to make an even deeper impact with students into the future.

“Several years ago, Junior Achievement of Central Iowa set forth a vision to ‘transform the organization from 0 to 5 Stars,’ said Ryan Osborn, President of Junior Achievement of Central Iowa. “I’m grateful to the benefactors, volunteers and education partners who joined and invested in our mission; we’re excited about the path we’re on and the role we can play to better empower Central Iowa students to create a bright future.”

During the 2021-2022 school year, Junior Achievement of Central Iowa served 21,718 students with 297,469 instructional hours.