Starting this year, the district introduced a number of new classes for students to put on their schedule. One of these classes includes personal finance, a class that seniors are now required to take. Personal finance is a class that teaches students a number of useful life skills that they will be able to apply in their future.

In personal finance, students learn how to pay taxes, manage money, pay for schooling and many more techniques. Though it added an extra class to seniors’ schedules, it may help them in the future. Students say that they have learned a lot of valuable life skills from the new finance class.

“I would say that personal finance is preparing me for real-world financial circumstances that I wasn’t prepared for before,” senior Taylor O’Donnell said.

So far this year, seniors have been taught how to fill out tax forms to ensure they are filled out fully and correctly. They also learned how to take out loans and the best way to pay them back. Students also shared a presentation on their intended future careers to help them research and prepare for what is next in life. Through all of these lessons, the students also learned numerous vocabulary words that have helped them to better understand finances. During classes, students would often participate in interactive activities such as scavenger hunts and online budgeting games.

“The budget challenge has helped me because it has taught me many ways to make good financial decisions,” senior Alyssa Grunnagle said.

These games allowed students to use the skills taught and put them into practice.

Students have also learned tips and tricks from the first-year teacher Ms. Michelle Keith, who teaches this brand-new class. Having real-world experience in all of the areas of the class, she is able to help each student and give her ideas and opinions. During the duration of the year, guest speakers have come in to talk about their different careers, college planning, borrowing loans and many other beneficial aspects that will apply to almost every student in their lives to come. The speakers help to give a different perspective to students, showing how all of the information in class can be applied to assist them in the future.

“Personal finance is just that, personal. Everyone has a different money situation, varying amounts of income and expenses. My ultimate goal for the class is to give students the basic knowledge they need to go out and make the best possible financial decision for their life,” Ms. Keith said. “I hope my students can weigh the pros and cons of different bank accounts and investment opportunities and have the baseline knowledge to know what questions to ask when they are making big purchases or planning for their financial future.”