Ansonia schools held a district-wide “Financial Literacy Day” Thursday with a variety of lessons teaching students the importance of personal money management.
As part of the program, high school students visited at the city’s other three schools to teach lessons to younger kids.
In Nancy Tingley’s second-grade classroom at Prendergast School, for instance, AHS senior Gianee Benavites read the children’s book “Supermarket” by Kathleen Krull, followed by an activity about shopping and spending led by fellow AHS senior Yarisa Ayala.
“This lesson is about grocery stores and how things have changed over the years to make them more efficient, with scanners and ordering online and things like that,” Benavites said.
The activity involved role-play between the second-graders, with one acting as cashier and the other as customer.
Benavites and Ayala guided pairs through a transaction, emphasizing the importance of reading price tags correctly and making correct change at checkout.
“We never really talked to them about financial literacy at this age, and I think the lesson was absolutely wonderful,” Tingley said when the lesson was done.
She noted that parents can easily reinforce these lessons with their kids outside the classroom.
The day’s activities were developed by AHS’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department with support from Stratford public schools, who first introduced an the “Financial Literacy Day” concept in 2011. CTE Lead Teacher Karen Phipps helmed the efforts for Ansonia.
AHS Consumer Economics teacher Jennifer Kelley said 33 business students participated in the program, swapping between teacher and assistant roles as they visited each elementary and middle school classroom with a lesson plan tailored for the grade.
“We brought six different lessons (to Prendergast) that we prepped the students on and taught them in advance to prepare,” Kelley said. “Over at the middle school they’re doing financial football.”
Kelley said the AHS students attended a “financial reality fair” at Housatonic Community College where they learned about finances, credit cards, taxes and controlling their own budgets.
That experience, in combination with classroom studies, helped them create the 45-minute lessons.
In Sarah Bilodeau’s fourth-grade class at Prendergast School, students learned about time management and “opportunity cost” by creating after school schedules.
Bilodeau said the activity was particularly interesting to her students because it introduced topics not typically covered in the curriculum.
“The lesson was very engaging. The kids were able to get into groups and communicate together to come to an agreement,” she said. “They realized that ultimately they might have to give up something in their day for priorities.”
Superintendent Carol Merlone toured Prendergast School with principal Joseph Apicella, stopping into as many rooms as possible to get a taste of of the lessons offered.
Merlone asked some of the high schoolers to share their post-graduation plans with the younger students, emphasizing the importance of a college degree in finding a suitable job in adulthood.
“It’s great to see the high school students act as role models and also understand the continuum of these lessons and their own educations,” Apicella said.
Financial Literacy Month festivities culminated Thursday night with a “Funny Money” comedy show at AHS by Canadian television host James Cunningham.
