Brownwood High School Seniors Learn Personal Finance Skills from Local Professionals

Brownwood News – Beginning on February 21st, the 103 local students in all of Brownwood High School’s five spring economics classes began receiving guidance in the area of personal finances from some of Brownwood’s local business professionals.

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The program – JA Personal Finance^® – focuses on earning money; spending money wisely through budgeting; saving and investing money; using credit cautiously; and protecting one’s personal finances. Following participation in the program, students will be able to recognize the fundamental elements of smart personal finances. They also will be able to apply those elements to a personal financial plan that allows them to set specific goals for their lifelong financial needs and desired quality of life.

This program is composed of five sessions and is designed to support the skills and competencies identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. JA programs also correlate to Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills standards in social studies, English, and mathematics, and to Common Core State Standards.

Perhaps the most “signature” quality of Junior Achievement (JA) is that these materials are administered in the classroom by a local volunteer! In Brownwood, local business professionals with Texas Bank, Coldwell Banker and Texas Farm Bureau Insurance have volunteered their time with Junior Achievement for the 2018 Spring Semester.

Katy Kuhl, a local volunteer for Junior Achievement says this about his JA involvement: “Junior Achievement was a wonderful experience! I had the pleasure of getting to know over 30 seniors and work with them on making wise and educated financial decisions. I was blown away by the maturity of the kids in Coach Edgin’s class and enjoyed every class with them. I was also surprised by the amount of kids that have jobs in our community. From The Hideout to Chick-Fil-A and even Walgreens, these students are contributing to our community and hard workers! I am thankful I had the opportunity to work with these students on budgeting, personal finance, credit information and looking out for their financial future. I look forward to working with a group of seniors next year!” 

Mike Fernandez – the Junior Achievement of Abilene Board Chairperson – had this to say about the JA Personal Finance program in Brownwood: “I wish someone had taught me these things before I left high school. The looks on the students’ faces when we teach the content really says it all. If we can get through to the students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, and have a positive impact on their lives, or break a cycle of poverty, then we have been successful. We are grateful to know that business professionals in Brownwood are doing what they can to help students prepare for a happy and productive life. We are proud that Junior Achievement is a resource the Brownwood community is utilizing as a foundation for doing that.”

Mr. David Edgin, coach and Economics teacher at Brownwood High School, expressed his appreciation of JA this way: “I really enjoy having [the JA volunteers] come up and do this.  It’s nice to have community leaders come in and meet the students and talk to them about their own experiences. The JA program does such a great job in getting these kids financial information that will help them throughout their lives.”

In addition to the benefit of personal finance skills, students also receive the opportunity to apply for one of Junior Achievement’s twenty available scholarships totaling an amount of over $100,000 paid over four years. The amount of each individual scholarship varies based on the scholarship for which they apply and may receive. One Brownwood student has received $10,000 in scholarships since JA began serving Brownwood High School in 2015.

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About Junior Achievement in Brownwood (JA)

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers that provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. Since 1983, Junior Achievement of Abilene has served over 135,000 students in the Big Country. During the 2017 – 2018 school year, JA of Abilene is excited to include approximately 22 Brownwood programs among their 240+ classroom programs and over 4,500 students served.  

JA has been involved at Brownwood Middle School for the past six years in partnership with the 3M Company. New partners this year include Kohler, Howard Payne and the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce. 

For more information, refer to the Junior Achievement website at www.jaabilene.org. If you would like more information about supporting JA in Brownwood or volunteering when the programs begin in the spring semester, please contact Daniel Hutson at [email protected] or the JA office at [email protected].