08-18-2024 Back to School - Flipbook - Page 13
A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Sunday, August 18, 2024 13
money each year. Whitney Price, director
of Strategic Initiatives, says, “We feel very
strongly about financial literacy for our
students. In our lower schools, students start
a financial literacy program in grade two,
then every year they take workshops with
developmentally appropriate content.”
St. Paul’s students in grades five through
10 take classes that cover insurance,
taxes, paychecks, the difference between
a credit and a debit card, and investment
information. Price says the school has
developed relationships in the local
financial market and has been able to
invite these professionals to speak to the
students. Workshops include talks from
bankers, financial managers and investment
professionals. “These workshops are built
into the school day so that everyone has
access to them,” Price comments. “We want
to empower the students to make informed
decisions and know the right questions to
ask, when to ask them and when to push for
better answers.”
Students at St. Paul’s School for Girls
can serve on the Student Investment Board
when they reach the 10th grade, and they
can remain on the board until graduation
from 12th grade. The 11 board members
are responsible for the investment portfolio
for that particular year. “They are given
Students from Cromwell Valley Elementary School in Baltimore County take a field trip where they
learn lessons in compound interest and investing.
$10,000 of the school’s money to develop an
investment portfolio. They research all the
possible stocks and investments, then they
pitch each other on their selections,” Price
says. “They are building on the portfolio
each successive year.”
Meanwhile, high school students can
dive deeper into the finance market at The
National Academy Foundation Finance
Academy at Edgewood High School in
Harford County. Students interested in
finance careers can take finance, accounting,
economics and securities-based classes there.
They can also find internship opportunities
and gain real-world experience working
in a credit union branch right on campus.
APGFCU’s student-run RAM branch,
named after the school’s mascot, allows the
opportunity for students to supplement
their classes by exploring various positions
associated with operating a financial
institution.
Weaver urges parents to help their
children find these financial learning
opportunities. “Beyond building good
habits and bringing these programs to
underserved communities, the children are
bringing home these lessons to support their
families,” she notes.
In addition to teaching financial
responsibility to children early, what can
concerned parents do to mount the sense of
urgency? These experts say find out about
your local programs. If they don’t exist,
contact your school board or local education
officials and let them know that financial
literacy is just as important as reading,
writing and arithmetic.
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