Students learn personal finances in trip to replica city

WOODLAND — Woodland Middle School sixth-graders worked as customer service representatives, store managers and CEOs when they attended JA BizTown, a simulated town developed by the Junior Achievement program. The visit was a culmination for students in Robin Uhlenkott’s new personal finance and citizenship class. The class started this school year, and students learned the difference between debit cards and credit cards, how to balance a checkbook and how interest rates and compound interest affect loans and investments. JA BizTown uses an 8,500-square-foot replica of a city to create a one-day economic simulation; students learn how an economy works, how to apply for a job and how to run a business.