Chasing after that 'ah hah' moment

By JOHN McCALLUM

Editor

Devry Bursch, Charlie Buckner and Alexxis Bowes answered in unison when asked if they were ready to get into the adult world of work and budgeting - "No!"

Understandable, since all three girls are eighth-graders at Westwood Middle School. But unlike most of their fellow students, the three feel more equipped to deal with the adult world, thanks to their participation in Junior Achievement and a recent JA Financial Park sponsored by Boeing Employees Credit Union.

Almost 1,000 middle school students attended the real-life scenario workshop held Nov. 29 - Dec. 9 at the Shriner's Event Center in Geiger Heights, most coming from Spokane Public Schools but also 127 from Westwood. It was the first time a Cheney school attended the event.

Until recently, students could attend a Financial Park at permanent locations in Auburn and Yakima only. Through a collaborative effort between organizations in Southwest Washington and Oregon, the mobile Financial Park was created and is available for use throughout Washington and Idaho.

The technology-driven park is 8,000 square feet of interactive space, and features 16 kiosks correlating to specific household budget items. Students attending the park receive an iPad loaded with information that establishes an adult identity for them with items such as income, marital status, children and occupation.

The students are then required to make financial decisions surrounding immediate needs such as housing and transportation, childcare and food while planning for long-term needs such as health care and retirement.

"It's not how much you make, but it's how you budget what you make," Jackie Wright, Junior Achievement's Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho regional director, said.

Wright, whose son is a Cheney School District graduate, pointed to statistics emphasizing the effects of not learning budgeting and financial planning early. According to a 2015 Ohio State University study, 70 percent of college students felt stressed about personal finances, 60 percent worried they may not have enough money to pay for school while 32 percent neglected studies at some point due to debt.

A 2014 AOL Finance article indicated only 40 percent of adults keep a budget and track spending, while more than one-fourth of American families have no savings at all. And a 2012 Gallup Poll survey showed that while 70 percent of girls and 67 percent of boys were optimistic of their future job prospects in fifth-grade, that dropped to 46 percent of girls and 50 percent of boys by the time they became high school seniors.

"They have less hope and more fear," Wright said. "We want to help them prepare and bring them more options."

Wright said the goals of Junior Achievement are to motivate, inspire and empower. All of these lead to future financial success, and according to the AOL Finance article, 90 percent of Junior Achievement alumni feel confident in their money-management skills.

"Each kid has the potential to do something great," she said.

Students attending the Financial Park were to have completed 13 hours of classroom instruction prior to the event. Westwood students didn't quite have that, Principal Erika Burden said, since the school didn't begin the course until early November.

Burden said Wright approached the district in late October to tell them there were two slots left for Junior Achievement in the district. After seeing the program in action at Gary Middle School in Spokane, Burden decided it would be a good fit for their curriculum and approached math teacher Tracy White.

"Ever the positive individual, Tracy said 'yes,'" Burden said.

But even without all of the background, all three Westwood girls felt the Financial Park was invaluable exposure to the adult world. All three already have some budgeting and financial background through their individual families.

"If you don't budget correctly, you're (for)ever spending in debt," Bowes said. "It will create issues, and it could get passed on to your kids."

All three had different expectations for the Financial Park experience, and all three had those expectations changed for the better. The trio thought they would get to pick their adults scenario, but agreed being assigned their roles was rewarding and enlightening.

Bursch, Buckner and Bowes all turned out to be single parents, two kids each, with incomes ranging from $32,000 to $81,000 a year and occupations such as human resource specialist to controller. Wright said the intent was to provide an eye-opening "ah hah" moment, and the Westwood girls found those, particularly regarding things such as health and child care.

"Child care, when you're at work, costs a lot of money," Bursch said.

Bowes was lucky in that her occupation allowed her to spend time with her kids more than the others. After paying bills and putting money in savings, she found she had about $50 a month left over.

"We went to the park a lot because it was free," she added.

Buckner said she learned that adults have difficulties, something she was already aware of through her own family experiences.

"It was cool to learn how to save and create a budget," she added.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.

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