Debbie Carlisle, executive director of the Clinton Public School Foundation, is heading up a “Reality Check” for seniors about to graduate from Clinton High School. As a part of the personal financial literacy portion of the senior capstone class, students get a look under the hood of what it means to be an adult.
Personal financial literacy entails getting students aware of what it looks like when purchasing a vehicle or house as they get older. Carlisle said it is preparing them for choices in life that can and will influence their future. It is for this reason that students have to complete projects utilizing these choices and see the macro effects, from micro choices.
Already in the class students have completed: Buying a car project where they select a car based on a budget and find out its monthly payments, insurance, and gas needed to run it; buying or renting a house and how that affects personal financial growth; and choosing a career path which varies wildly based on certification or college requirements.