Since the start of the 2023-24 school year, 5th Grade Social Studies students throughout the district have been preparing for a real-world simulation of community, financial literacy, and civic engagement. The work culminated in a whole-day visit to Junior Achievement of New Jersey's "BizTown" in Edison, where students from all of our schools worked hand in hand to make this simulated town run and thrive. BizTown includes a city hall, two banks (Wells Fargo and Citizens Bank, a non-profit community assistance center, a medical center (Horizon Health Center), a health diagnosis center (Quest Diagnostics), a restaurant (Chick-Fil-A), a radio station, a newspaper, an electricity utility (Phillips 66), a graphic design center (U-Design-It), a civic engineering company (Colliers), an insurance agency (MetLife), and UPS. Each business has a CEO and a CFO, as well as employees who are tasked with everything a self-sustaining community must complete. Junior Achievement is funded entirely by local, state, and national businesses, allowing them to offer BizTown at no charge to New Jersey public schools. During each of Orange Public School's four visits (11/1-Rosa Parks, 11/2-Lincoln Ave, 11/3-Cleveland, Forest, and Oakwood, and 11/6-Heywood and Park), volunteers from businesses like JP Morgan Chase and Citizens Bank served as advisors at each company, helping students complete their tasks. 
Transportation to and from BizTown was made possible by a grant from Hands, Inc., a non-profit neighborhood revitalization organization servicing Orange and East Orange. Hands, which stands for "Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, has been operating locally from their South Essex Avenue office since 1986.

To view images of each school's visit, please visit the Google site link below:

https://sites.google.com/orange.k12.nj.us/biztown-2023/home