{"id":208827,"date":"2026-03-27T20:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T20:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/208827\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T20:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T20:49:07","slug":"junior-achievement-to-open-barnett-family-discovery-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/208827\/","title":{"rendered":"Junior Achievement to open Barnett Family Discovery Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAKELAND, Fla. \u2014 Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay<\/a> and Polk County Public Schools are moving forward with plans for a new student learning center in Polk County designed to teach financial literacy, entrepreneurship and career readiness through hands-on experiences.<\/p>\n

The new facility, called the Barnett Family Discovery Center, will bring Junior Achievement\u2019s Muma BizTown and JA Finance Park programs to Polk County, giving students opportunities to take part in simulations that mirror adult financial and workplace decisions.<\/p>\n

Students who participate will take on roles that include managing budgets, operating businesses and making real-world financial choices in a classroom environment built to reflect everyday economic systems.<\/p>\n

Pam Muma, a supporter of the initiative, said the programs have already shown long-term educational value in helping students build confidence and practical skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe truly believe in Junior Achievement\u2019s mission and the power of experiential learning to change lives,\u201d Muma said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Richard George, president of Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay, described the center as a major investment in local students and their future workforce readiness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Discovery Center represents a major investment in the future of Polk County\u2019s students,\u201d George said. \u201cBy bringing real-world learning to life, we\u2019re helping young people build the skills and confidence they need to succeed in today\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project is being funded through support from corporate partners, philanthropic donors and community organizations involved in education and workforce development.<\/p>\n

The center will be located at Tenoroc High School, where a groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Monday March 30.<\/p>\n

Junior Achievement operates similar programs nationwide, focusing on K-12 education through applied learning experiences tied to personal finance, business and career planning.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n

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\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAKELAND, Fla. \u2014 Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay and Polk County Public Schools are moving forward with plans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-208827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}