New Berlin goes big with financial education for every student
This month was all about financial literacy at New Berlin high schools! SecureFutures was honored to be chosen to partner with the New Berlin school district to make sure every senior got a foundation in understanding healthy credit.
Twenty-two volunteers visited New Berlin West High School and New Berlin Eisenhower High School on two consecutive Mondays, presenting the “To Your Credit” session of the Money Sense program in every senior classroom during the morning advisory period. The team of volunteers represented 16 employers, including Associated Bank, OneAmerica, and Waukesha State Bank and together have logged over 400 hours in the classroom as SecureFutures volunteers.
Kevin Gemignani, Associate Principal at Eisenhower, is the school’s point person for Advisory and Academic and Career Planning. He’s committed to making sure students leave New Berlin high schools with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to be financially capable adults.
“Financial literacy has been a valued concept in New Berlin,” Gemignani said. “My hope is that students will develop personal responsibility with their finances, that they understand more than just the term ‘credit score.'”
He said that making financial literacy a specific topic for the advisory topic came out of student and parent focus groups. Financial literacy is also one of the benchmarks to meet for students to graduate with a College, Career, and Life Readiness designation.
Gemignani and other staff at Eisenhower were impressed by SecureFutures’ team of volunteers and their level of understanding and connection with students. “SecureFutures volunteers were enthusiastic, engaged, invested,” he said. “Advisory teachers echoed that sentiment.”
Gemignani is confident that participation in SecureFutures program will help students in meeting their future financial goals.
“SecureFutures offered authentic learning experiences: real-world professionals as instructors and authentic and timely lessons for our students,” he said.
