Moses Lake students learn financial literacy

New program offers lessons useful in life

MOSES LAKE - By the time graduation rolls around, Moses Lake High School's seniors will know how to save money, insure a car and work a debit card.

The high school introduced a course in financial literacy this year.

Partnering with Horizon Credit Union, the school takes students on field trips to the institution four times each semester.

"These kids are graduating in June and they're going to be out in the real world," said math teacher and department chair Kristy Swartz. "We need them to have a clue."

Swartz said the course is geared toward students who did not pass the math WASL, but it is open to others.

Students asked about car insurance, life insurance, identity theft and credit cards, Swartz said. One student even asked about refinancing a house.

"I didn't expect an 18-year-old to say, 'how do you refinance a house?'" Swartz said.

On Monday, students took their first trip to the credit union to learn basic banking concepts.

Employees discussed types of checking accounts, the difference between a savings account and certificate of deposit, the definition of FDIC insurance and NCUA insurance, and other financial topics.

Swartz said the branch opened doors early to accommodate students.

"It's one thing to talk about education in the classroom. It's another thing to bring that education into the real world," said Business Development Representative Joshua Allison.

Swartz said the class covers more than finances: job skills, success skills and life skills are also covered. Because the students who took the course did not pass the WASL, they will also work to prepare their "collection of evidence" for submission to the state, she said.

The collection of evidence is an alternative to the WASL.

In addition to working with Horizon Credit Union, students are benefiting from the resources of Junior Achievement in Spokane and the National Endowment for Financial Education, Allison said.

Allison is a director for Junior Achievement and volunteers to teach in the classroom several times each semester. Horizon brought Junior Achievement from Spokane to the Columbia Basin, he said.

Each semester, Allison will make 12 visits to the classroom to teach. Seven sessions focus on success skills. During each of the sessions, Allison focuses on one habit from "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens," by Sean Covey.

He teaches five additional units through the National Endowment for Financial Education.

Allison said Horizon is committed to bringing financial education into the classroom - In Idaho, the organization offers a student-run credit union.

Senior Viktoriya Radchishina, 17, said Horizon seems willing to help students out.

"I think the biggest (thing I want to learn) is just being smarter with money, to know what you're doing, to help you save up," Radchishina said.

Senior Salvador Rose, 17, said the class will help him with financial issues he might face in the future, when he starts his own contracting business.

"I've learned a lot about checking and savings, and financial loans - loans on houses and loans on cars," Rose said.

Rose said he has been a member of Horizon Credit Union for several years, but he is still learning from them through the financial literacy class.