By Perrin Clark ’15, Editor

As a high school student, it is difficult to know what to expect after college. However, all high school students will understand what lies ahead with better certainty if they have a thorough understanding of personal finance. Unfortunately, most students do not receive an adequate education on financial literacy; only 4 states mandate that a single class is dedicated to personal finance. As a community it is essential to examine solutions to this dangerous neglect.

The lack of financial education has yielded biting consequences for our Nation’s college graduates. Matthew Gertler, director of alumni relations, encountered such problems when he graduated from Newark Academy without any financial education. He recalls, “my dad asked me how much money I needed for my first year of college. I requested an amount, which he provided; however, I exceeded my budget in November. My dad told me I had to make the extra money I needed on my own.” Mr. Gertler’s difficulties in saving money are a microcosm of the trouble students face.  Indeed, only 63% of students under 18 have a savings account. Furthermore, students also have trouble understanding how crushing debt can become. Many find themselves unable to pay back the loans they took out to pay for their college education. Currently, student loans are the fastest growing category of household debt, and 5 million of these loan borrowers are in default, meaning they have been unable to pay their debts for 270 days or more. This debt crisis for college graduates is the product of their inadequate preparedness to plan their financial futures.

Fortunately, most students at Newark Academy have the opportunity to understand finance better than other high school peers. For example, Jai Ghose ‘14 leads the student endowment committee, which he claims, “educates people by investing real money. It teaches its members by giving them hands-on investing experience. The club manages a $170,000 portion of the endowment. We manage that money and take 5% of the past 12 quarters average value to spend.” In fact, it is very rare for private high schools to allow students to manage a portion of the endowment. The club is a laboratory where Newark Academy students can experiment with real money management to be better prepared for a future that many of their high school peers are not.

Despite the amazing opportunities the student endowment offers, Newark Academy can improve financial education for its students. For the first time since 1994, no students this year signed up for the school’s economics elective, which teaches students about personal finance. According to Mr. Goldfischer, the teacher of this elective and the school’s director of business, “students’ schedules are occupied with so many courses, that they have no room to sign up for this elective.” To solve this problem he proposes that, “for the whole school workshops could be set up in which a representative from a company, or an alum of Newark Academy could serve as an expert to address students in groups of 15 based on their particular needs in financial education.” This program would be a pivotal step in providing knowledge that every student needs to avoid personal debt, build stable savings, and to ultimately live a stable life with minimal financial uncertainties.

Personal finance education would not only help students, but also reflect Newark Academy’s identity. As a school, we strive to be innovative with education. Expanding Newark Academy’s opportunities to teach money management through financial workshops would be groundbreaking, as few schools in the United States emphasize this subject matter. In addition, such expansion will look towards the future in the hopes of solving the student debt crisis. So let us examine a new perspective of Newark Academy’s values, help students live better lives and move ad lumen.