Reality Check: MHS freshmen get a dose of real world
Published 4:45 pm Tuesday, September 20, 2016
- Paula Merritt / The Meridian StarNaydia Hopson, left, a student at Meridian High School, talks with Shevonda Truman, Freshman Academy principal, about her mock finances at a reality fair Tuesday.
Meridian High School Freshman Academy students are getting a dose of reality this week by learning what it takes to live in the real world.
The Junior Auxiliary of Meridian hosts the reality fairs to help students understand the benefits of financial literacy, JA President Hallie Swindoll said.
“The Reality Check program teaches ninth grade students basic personal financial skills through real life scenarios,” Swindoll said. “They are given a sheet of paper with a job title, highest education achieved, family status, and monthly salary. They will have to use their salary to determine their monthly budget. They then go to different booths to pay their bills; housing, utilities, car note, clothes, groceries, insurance and child care.”
It teaches the students a high school diploma is important, said Holli Cobb, Freshman Academy counselor.
“Not only is getting a high school diploma important, but moving on to post-secondary education is also very important,” Cobb said. “The more education you get, the higher salary you usually make, and that’s important when you are trying to buy things you need.”
Meridian had a four-year graduation rate of 68.6 percent in 2015, according to a Mississippi Department of Education report. It’s four year drop out rate was 25.3 percent.
Making good choices is imperative at an early age, Cobb said.
“It gives the students a look at how choices and lifestyles could affect future decisions,” Cobb said. It’s about making good choices when it comes to education, and financial responsibility. It shows them you can’t always have everything you want, you have to budget.”
Students Jahda Martin and Octavia Loper said the program taught them how to be responsible and make good choices.
“I learned that life is hard and you are going to have to work for it,” Martin said. “It showed me I need to make right choices about having kids, to quit playing around, and stay in school.”
“It taught me how to be responsible with my money and what necessities I need to live,” Loper said. “I want to stay in school so I can achieve my real goal in life, which is to help people who have been raped or sexually harassed.”
Freshman Academy Principal Shevonda Truman said the fair focuses on decision making.
“We are giving them a relevant experience to get a dose of what reality is right after high school or college,” Truman said. “It gives them a foundation, letting them know you have to really think about what you are doing. It helps to insure they are leaving high school ready and prepared to get that career or great job.”