Paychex Junior Achievement Discovery Center

Nationally Proven. Locally Impactful. Welcome to the Paychex JA Discovery Center.

Become a Volunteer at the JA Discovery Center

Help inspire the next generation by volunteering at the Paychex JA Discovery Center. No teaching experience is required—we provide all the training and materials you need. Spend a few hours making a lasting impact on students as they explore careers, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship.

👉 Sign Up to Volunteer

October - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4FABA922A4F5C16-64950574-2026#/

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June - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4FABA922A4F5C16-64950766-2027#/

Paychex JA Discovery Center

Since opening its doors in January 2024, the Paychex JA Discovery Center has welcomed more than 18,351 students from across the Greater Rochester region, becoming a transformative destination for experiential learning in financial literacy, career readiness, and entrepreneurship.

What began with more than 4,700 students during its inaugural partial academic year has grown into a thriving educational resource serving an expanding number of school districts, educators, and community partners. With the support of hundreds of dedicated volunteer mentors, thousands of students have experienced hands-on learning through immersive simulations that prepare them for future success.

At the Discovery Center, students build lifelong financial skills, explore their interests and values, and develop an entrepreneurial mindset while working alongside adult mentors who share their own career journeys and real-world experiences. This nationally recognized model equips the next generation with the knowledge, confidence, and skills needed to achieve economic self-sufficiency while helping address workforce development needs throughout our region.

Built to educate and designed to inspire, the Paychex JA Discovery Center empowers students to discover the boundless opportunities available right here in our community.

FUEL THEIR FASCINATION

In JA BizTown, fifth and sixth grade students step into a fully simulated economy where they experience what it means to live, work, and lead in a community. Following classroom lessons on business, economics, and citizenship, students assume jobs within one of the Discovery Center's storefronts and work together to operate successful businesses.

Throughout the day, students earn and spend paychecks, pay taxes, vote in elections, make business decisions, and collaborate with their peers to repay their business start-up loans. Guided by caring volunteer mentors, students gain firsthand insight into workplace expectations while discovering the many career opportunities available to them.

LAUNCH THEIR INDEPENDENCE

JA Finance Park (Entry Level for grades 7–8 and Advanced Level for high school students) provides an immersive personal finance experience that prepares students for real-life financial decisions.

After completing classroom lessons on budgeting, saving, credit, and financial responsibility, students are assigned a unique life scenario that includes a career, income, education level, and family situation. They then navigate a series of storefronts representing major household expenses—including housing, transportation, food, insurance, and utilities—to create and manage a balanced budget.

Along the way, students apply for loans, explore the impact of credit scores, make spending decisions, and learn how financial choices affect long-term well-being. Supported by volunteer mentors who bring real-world experience to every interaction, students leave JA Finance Park with greater confidence and practical skills they can carry into adulthood.

Special THANKS to all the Storefront Sponsors!

American Packaging

Architecture/Engineering Collaboration of 8 Firms

Buckingham Properties

Courier Capital

Delta Air Lines

Ernst & Young

Five Star Bank

G.W. Lisk

Joseph & Irene Skalny Charitable Trust

LeChase Construction Services

LiDestri

Marks Pizzeria