The state has funded nearly 60 high schools in the Commonwealth to hold financial education fairs to promote individuals’ understanding of the real world. From income to credit ratings, renter’s insurance to the cost of food, they are all ideas some high school students would call “adult issues”.
“We are also children. Most of the time, we are still residing with our kids. That’s not at the vanguard of our thinking,” said Agawam High School senior Isabella Fleury.
But, that’s something university towns are working to change. Thanks to numerous state agencies, more than $220,000 was issued to lots of high schools across the state including Agawam and West Springfield. Each high school received more than $6,000 to network student career fairs.
“They will sort of be seeing it from the beginning,” he said. “I’m going to get a credit score, I have gone to college, and I have school loans. I have a small bit in benefits, but now, I’m going to come into my career and in my career, I make this little, minus all the fees, so what’s my net pay and what do I find monthly. I now need to determine what I can afford based on that regular budget,” according to Agawam High School Career Center Coordinator Lisa Sheehan.
Sheehan is in charge of the Agawam High School occasion.
“We don’t want kids to be in debt. We object to them simply obtaining a credit card and remarking that their interest rate is 30% because of their poor credit standing. Why is my credit report but poor? Also today, we’re going to try and teach you things to do so your credit score may be decent,” Sheehan added.
The goal is to offer students a preference for what life will be like after completion and give them a chance to make mistakes before it really matters.
“I’ve seen the students go back and say ‘Okay, I need to start over again.’ Sheehan noted that ‘I then need to see that I need a roommate, rental insurance, and everything else.’
Fleury and her colleagues are anticipating the honest and the lessons that will accompany it, according to Fleury.
“I think it’s a great opportunity, and all the kids are excited about it,” Fleury continued. “I know I can do this” or “I know I need to work a little harder to get what I want when I’m older,” said Fleury.
West Springfield High School uses their offer cash in a similar way, but students will be able to use their phones to recreate real-world situations.
“It’s actually a good model of a real-life practice for these individuals before they step into life after high school, which I think is thoroughly important,” said West Springfield High School Counselor Colin Moge.
West Springfield seniors will use an app to navigate the life fair credit system at their school instead of paper and pen. According to Mogue, students will choose a career the day before the fair, and that choice will set them on a course in this mock game of “Life,” with the aim of imparting important financial lessons.
“Every decision I make regarding my career and any type of investment or expenditure must be made in a thoughtful way throughout the process,” according to Moge, who described the experience itself as collective, which really affects how the rest of my career and future may turn out.
In the future, Sheehan and Moge both hope to keep holding these fairs. Agawam’s fair is set to take place on April 10 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and West Springfield’s fair will happen on April 30.