Local Finance Guru Visits JHS Students
When it comes to talking dollars and cents, local author, speaker, and finance guru Adam Carroll has the lockdown on what makes sense to students.
As part of an awarded grant from Next Gen Personal Finance, Johnston High School business teacher Kayla Bousum brought Carroll and his messages regarding debt, personal finance savvy, and successfully navigating life as a young adult to JHS juniors.
Johnston High School and its business teachers are leading the way in teaching financial literacy to high school students. In the fall of 2017, Johnston High School was awarded a Next Gen Personal Finance Gold distinction for their commitment to educating all JHS students in 21st Century personal finance skills.
During the summer of 2017, Next Gen Personal Finance analyzed 11,000 U.S. high school course websites to measure student access to comprehensive financial education. Johnston High School was one of only 600 high schools nationwide to deliver the Gold Standard of a required, standalone, semester+ personal finance course.
The 2017-18 school year is the first year JHS has made a financial literacy course a graduation requirement for students. It replaces a technology requirement and was approved by the board in spring 2017. While variations of personal finance classes have been taught at JMS and JHS for years, a required semester-long course now puts financial know-how in the spotlight for all students.
“Adam helped students put their classroom knowledge into a realistic perspective of what saving, debt, and healthy personal finance for life looks like,” Bousum said. “We are grateful for Next Gen Personal Finance for the grant and opportunity to bring such an engaging and entertaining finance authority to our school. Helping students build financial literacy skills now is critical as they prepare for life beyond Johnston.”
