Program prepares students for financial careers

Aldeth Lewin

Oct. 14, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- ST. THOMAS -- Most college-educated adults cannot describe what a financial intermediary does, but at Charlotte Amalie High School there are about 30 ninth- and tenth-graders who can.

The students are currently enrolled in a new program -- the Academy of Finance -- that offers a different approach to career training and education.

The program was created by the National Academy Foundation. Two representatives from the national nonprofit -- William Taylor and Jeanine Flynn -- are in the territory this week to visit the school and provide training for teachers and administrators.

The National Academy Foundation was founded in 1982 by Sanford Weill, chairman emeritus of Citigroup (NYSE:C) , to help inner-city public high school students get started on a financial career path. He created a program that brought together members of the business world and educators to achieve that goal.

The programs have since evolved and now there are four academies offered -- Finance, Hospitality and Tourism, Information Technology and Engineering. CAHS's Finance Academy is one of 43 new academies starting this year. They join the 385 public high schools in 41 states and Washington that already have academies.

The Finance Academy provides a curriculum that includes banking and credit, financial planning, international finance, securities, insurance, accounting and economics. Changing the model of vocational education, the Finance Academy prepares students for financial careers, regardless of whether they decide to go to college or enter the work force immediately following high school.

"This is a very different way of thinking about education," Taylor said.

Flynn said the program is a marriage of college-bound and vocational education tracks, shedding the stigma that is often associated with vocational programs.

"The student is going to come out with choices," Flynn said.

CAHS applied for the Finance Academy program last year. This school year is considered a "year of planning," where school officials are working closely with the national organization to set up the program. They are starting with mostly ninth-graders, although there are a few tenth-graders in the program as well.

The Finance Academy is based on three components: a career-themed curriculum, paid internships and a local advisory board to support the academy.

The curriculum is standardized, but there is a constant give and take to mold the program to each school and community's need, Taylor said.

An advisory board is being developed that will include members of the local business community, policymakers and educators to oversee the program. The board will provide externships for teachers, paid internships for students and help to tailor the curriculum to suit the territory's work force needs.

CAHS Principal Carmen Howell said she chose the National Academy Foundation's Finance Academy for her school as a way to integrate many disciplines -- like English, math and business -- and give students real-world application for the theory they learn in class.

The high school is the first in the territory to start a National Academy Foundation program.

Ninth-grader TJ Thompson said he he was placed in the class after checking off a box on a survey indicating that he was interested in business careers.

He wants to go to law school -- and ultimately be a judge -- but feels that having a solid background in finance will only help him in the long run.

"I know that in the future I will need to have good money-management skills to be successful," Thompson said.

In the first month of the program, the class has studied banking, financial intermediaries, credit unions, insurance companies, loans, pension funds and credit and debit among other things.

Thompson said everything is interesting, because it is all new to him. He said one of the things he has learned is that no matter how much money you have, you can still get into debt -- that money management is key no matter how much you earn.

CAHS Finance Academy teacher Laughton Brandy said the kids are responding positively to the new curriculum. He said the focus of the program is to teach students about creation of wealth and management of that wealth.

Brandy said in the Virgin Islands, parents tend to teach their children to save money, but rarely do they teach about investments. That needs to change, he said. Children need to be taught that they can invest their money wisely to even greater gains -- both for themselves and their community.

"If properly managed, they can impact the local economy and even the global economy through their investments," he said.

Howell said she is considering starting other National Academy Foundation programs at the school, specifically a hospitality and tourism academy. But for now the school is focused on getting the Finance Academy up and running, she said.

For more information on the National Academy Foundation visit www.naf.org.

- Contact reporter Aldeth Lewin at 774-8772 ext. 311 or e-mail alewin@dailynews.vi.

Newstex ID: KRTB-1279-38826045