Looking dapper in a blue shirt and striped tie, 11-year-old Quinn Krueger leaned over his desk and peered at plans for his company’s next project — a park bench.
Krueger was CEO of the only construction firm in BizTown, a simulated city at Junior Achievement in Maplewood, Minn., where fourth- and fifth-graders spend a day learning to run a business, work for a boss, write a check, pay taxes and do payroll.
“We’re selling the bench for $75,” Krueger said. “We’re doing good.”
With kids zipping back and forth and bemused parents and teachers looking on, the program is among the more elaborate attempts to teach children to become financially literate.