OUR POLICY

We believe the best solution for this problem is starting a mandatory class that every student has to take in order to graduate. For example, we can start a class that teaches young adults the basic financial life skills that they may need throughout life. In order to achieve this goal, our suggestion is to have a semester to a year-long class of financial literacy for Juniors.

 

In this class they will learn about: how to do taxes, how loans work, how to get a loan, how to invest your money smart, money management, how to open your own bank account, how credit scores work, and how to improve credit scores. Even if the class is mandatory, in order to graduate, you will not have to pass this class. We think students already have enough classes that they have to pass in order to graduate, but this class is mainly here to prepare students for their financial future. It should be in their own interest to pass this class and to pay attention. The main grade will be the final project at the end of the course. For their final project, students will have to find a person in their community with low income (less than $54,000 a year) and they will attempt to do their taxes for free. They can also give the community member financial advice if needed. With this program, the students will gain a lot of practical experience and get out of their comfort zone because they will work with strangers. Their customers also get money back from tax returns and they save money by not hiring a tax consultant. This is a great opportunity to engage with their community and the community will have a good outcome towards the end.

 

According to our student survey we did at Roaring Fork High School 76.6% do not know how to do Basic Financial things like how to do your how taxes, how loans work etc. We randomly chose 2 Crew classes for each grade and gave them our survey. We surveyed in total 94 students. Many Americans who didn't receive any financial education at a young age, are now seen struggling with money and most are living paycheck to paycheck. There are many causes of stress for Americans but money has been the top cause. We can prevent such things by teaching a financial literacy course to young adults and having them understand how they can avoid any money issues in the future.