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Program aims to prepare students for life after school
Published 10/19/2011 in Local News
By RACHAEL GRAY
rgray@gctelegram.com
As a 26-year-old in the health sciences field, Nuvia Guerra could make more than $35,000.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Bonnie Burgardt, right, works with Garden City High School freshman Kaylee Membreno on what vehicle to get to match her scenario at the transportation station Tuesday during a Reality U event in the GCHS practice gym.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Garden City High School freshmen Jordan Claar, left, Joanna Hernandez, Elizabeth Acosta and Erlinda Villatoro talk over housing options with Lisa Knoll Tuesday at one of the stations at a Reality U event in the GCHS practice gym.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Garden City High School freshman Haley Finch rolls the dice to see if something financially good or bad will happen to her at a chance station Tuesday during a Reality U event in the GCHS practice gym.
But after paying a mortgage, utilities and car payments, and factoring in food and entertainment, her budget may be a little tight.
Guerra, who actually is a 15-year-old freshman at Garden City High School, learned about financial realities and responsibilities Tuesday during Reality U, a Communities in Schools program that teaches financial literacy. The program was held at GCHS.
Students who took part in Reality U were provided an occupation based on their educational plans after high school, their current grade-point average and their desired career field.¬ They filled out a lifestyle survey prior to the event, providing details about the life they plan to have as a 26-year-old.
Before entering Reality U, students received their lifestyle survey back along with their adult scenario — complete with marital status, number of children, occupation and net monthly income.¬ Their net monthly income was the equivalent of the average monthly salary in the selected occupation at the age of 26.
In the simulation, Guerra had no children and was not married, but in reality Guerra has a 7-month-old baby.
"This is what it would be like if I didn't have my baby," Guerra said.
In the simulation, when the students were assigned children, they had to decide if they wanted to hire babysitters or choose day cares.
Sarai Hernandez, 14, a freshman, earned $3,254 per month at her job in business management. When at the supermarket table, Hernandez tried to figure out her grocery budget for each month. In the simulation, she was divorced and had custody of one child.
"Life's hard," she said, and laughed.
Students also purchased housing, transportation, communication services, child care, food, utilities and insurance. They had the opportunity to save money, give to charity and learn about unexpected events that affect daily life.¬ The students had one hour to complete their Reality U session.
The Reality U session was partnered with the Communities in Schools program, a program that now has a site coordinator at GCHS.
A $30,000 donation from AT&T, along with a $20,000 donation from the Finnup Foundation, enabled Communities in Schools to start a program in Garden City. Sharon Quint, the site coordinator at GCHS, will help serve as a liaison between schools and businesses, faith groups and nonprofit agencies in the community to provide a wide range of services, including mentoring, tutoring, health care, summer and after school programs, family counseling and vocational education.
Communities in Schools will focus on dropout reduction and increased graduation rates, according to Terry Leatherman, director of external affairs at Communities in Schools, based out of Lawrence.
Leatherman said 1.2 million students drop out of schools each year. The average income of a college graduate is $54,000, and the average earned income of a high school dropout is $17,000.
"The economic ramifications of this are huge," Leatherman said.
James Mireles, GCHS principal, said along with transitioning into the new high school and raising students' scores on state assessments, another goal of his is to increase the graduation rate while decreasing the dropout rate.
Currently, 74 percent of GCHS students are graduating.
"That number should be 80," he said.
Rick Atha, USD 457 superintendent, said having a high school education and beyond is important in the current economic climate.
"It's more critical now to have a high school education and further education now than ever before. The dropout rate — it's a Garden City High School problem, it's a district problem, it's a community problem, it's a state problem and it's a national problem. So thank you for your support and the program you're bringing to Garden City," he said at a Communities in Schools press conference.
Communities in Schools has a track record of improving student outcomes in academic achievement and behavioral patterns. Independent research demonstrates that Communities in Schools is one of only a few organizations proven to keep students in school, and the only one to document that it increases graduation rates.
According to GCHS, students receiving individualized support in Kansas during the 2009-10 school year achieved tremendous results: 99 percent of potential dropouts stayed in school; 98 percent were promoted to the next grade; 95 percent improved their behavior; 87 percent improved in academics; and 85 percent improved attendance, according to a release from GCHS.
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