Was the first time your middle-schooler gave you financial advice the last? Probably not if your child is a student at Orange Grove Middle School and has experienced Dawn Willman’s Deep Learning Showcase.
Turns out, seventh- and eighth-graders in Willman’s social studies classes can speak with authority about budgets and personal finance.
Those same students will be better prepared for the business management program when they reach Catalina Foothills High School and begin exploring career possibilities in the business world.
Ms. Willman presents her students with a "personal finance case study" in which these young teenagers identify financial problems, develop solutions and recommendations, and serve as financial advisors to clients in a mock setting.
A short film produced by the Catalina Foothills School District focuses on the details of Ms. Willman’s Deep Learning Showcase, spotlighting student presentations and the process of formulating realistic solutions to common problems that many people from all walks of life can relate to.
Students in the showcase say they are more comfortable having conversations with their parents and families about finances and that they are learning that many adults need to start saving early enough for the future and for retirement.
Another common problem is debt. It is vital to understand that debt can create lasting problems for people, and the showcase includes some of the sound advice these youngsters are discovering and can articulate clearly. They say they already feel better prepared. Fortunately, the foundational financial literacy trajectory originating at Orange Grove Middle continues at CFHS with the business management program.
Business management and finance teacher Jason Reinhardt, currently in his ninth year at the high school, says the program’s popularity is due, in part, to his students' “curiosity about entrepreneurship, their ability to be creative within the content they explore, as well as the opportunities that continuing with the program offer.”
The business management program includes instruction in management theory, project management, human resources management and behavior, accounting and other quantitative methods, purchasing and logistics, organization and production, marketing, and business decision-making.
“Our students bring a unique awareness and point of view to the courses. This generation is much more engaged and aware of the forces in the marketplace and economy. With their strong academic standing and their expectation for comfort in rigorous academic environments, it's great to be able to push them into more creative and philosophical directions within the context of business studies,” Reinhardt says. The program consists of Business Management 1, which prepares students for business and marketing careers, and is open to students in grades 10-12; Business Management 2, which prepares students for careers in business or entrepreneurial endeavors, is open to students in grades 11-12; and Business Management 3, which is designed to prepare students for business and marketing employment, entrepreneurialism, and post-secondary academic endeavors, is open to seniors.
“I've had the opportunity to work with our curriculum specialists, the state, and our community to build the current program of study,” Reinhardt says, including the year-two community connections projects in which students work directly with local business owners and operators,” Reinhardt adds that another course, the premier Business 3 Work-based Learning course, is a rigorous internship program that pushes students well past the typical work experience of other high school internship programs. “What I enjoy most here is the support I've had from the community and the district to create a robust, relevant, and rigorous business program of study.”
Career and finance teacher, Madison Tweedy, willl add accounting courses to the curriculum next academic year. She says the reason for bringing accounting into CFHS is because of its importance in the business world — it is known as the language of business, Tweedy notes, and the sooner students are able to grasp that knowledge, the better off they will be if they are planning a business career. “Employers are looking for accounting majors because of this reason. Being able to teach the CFHS students this before they get to college or go into the business world will put them ahead of their colleagues.”
In this course, Tweedy says, students will be working in Microsoft Office Suite, and those skills will transfer into the workforce. After completing Business 2: Applied Business Systems, students can complete either the Microsoft Office or Quickbooks certification. There is no cost to those enrolled in the course.
“Having these certifications can help them build up their resume. Completing one of these certifications will prove they are proficient,” she says. Those wanting to go on the accounting path will complete the Quickbooks certification and those more interested in Management Information Systems, or MIS, will complete the Microsoft Office certification, Tweedy notes. “The student will ultimately have the decision to get whichever certification they think will benefit them the most or the one they enjoy more.”
Just as those Orange Grove Middle School 7th and 8th-graders were excited to present their findings, solutions, and recommendations to a “client” with financial problems while learning some key strategies, they also talked about applying this knowledge to their own lives. Students in the Business Management program are very accepting and supportive of each other, which inspires them to move past any trepidation when creating, sharing, and presenting their ideas. “We do end up with a lot of business students finding their direction through our program of study,” Reinhardt says.
This generation is much more engaged and aware of the forces in the marketplace and economy.