This school year, homerooms incorporated a seminar per grade through the Leader in Me program. Specifically, senior homerooms are to complete the Everfi program.
“Schools are always on the search for programs that can benefit students as an add-on to our curriculum,” senior guidance counselor Eileen Starr said. “EverFi was one of several that were looked into for our students. The bonus with EverFi is that it may help students who struggle with standardized testing to complete an artifact for a category within Keystone State Graduation Pathways.”
Senior Teagan Fanelli believes Everfi has helped her budgeting.
“I learned a lot about how to financially budget myself in effective ways,” Fanelli said. “It helped me learn how to better maintain and track my expenses.”
Everfi offers interactive critical life skills and societal challenges covering topics such as financial literacy, health and wellness, workforce readiness and STEM education. The specific high school financial literacy program consisted of 11 digital lessons that discussed budgeting, saving, credit management, taxes, insurance and career planning.
“It provides information on financial literacy as they transition from high school to the real world,” Starr said. “Many students will begin living on their own and need to know how to financially support themselves.”
Senior Emilee Starr plans to use the skills learned from Everfi in college.
“Moving 13 hours away from home to attend the University of Memphis means I will be handling new expenses like housing, utilities and transportation,” Starr said. “Everfi can equip me with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions, manage my student loans effectively and set myself up for long term financial success in my career.”
For seniors who do not have a morning homeroom, it is not required.
Every student in homeroom seminars receives a pass or fail grade for the completion of the activities. If the Everfi program is not completed, it will affect the student’s seminar grade.
“Completion of Everfi modules is not an AAHS graduation requirement but could assist with Keystone Pathway completion,” Starr said. “Administrators are able to track completion of Everfi modules for every student.”
