Yes. It has a real lambda (unlike Python's half-assed one) and lexically scoped internal definitions. Types are properly associated with data rather than with variables. Other than the syntax, its only real weakness is that it gets object prototyping wrong -- it has a separate kind of thing called a prototype, which is just a class in sheep's clothing, as opposed to the Snap! OOP system, in which any object can serve as the prototype for another object.
But, yeah, if someone held a gun to my head and told me I had to teach a language that students can get a job in, I'd definitely choose JavaScript.