LOST CREEK, W.Va. (WBOY) — Harrison County Schools have kickstarted a pilot program sponsored by Truist Bank called the “Reality Check Personal Finance Simulation” with the goal of teaching students how to respond to real-life scenarios.
The Personal Finance Simulation is similar to the “Get a Life simulation” that middle schools in the county participated in this year, the only difference is that it’s for high school students. A group of 11th-grade South Harrison students were the first to experience the program on Tuesday as it debuted its pilot.
During the simulation, students received different real-life scenarios and visited stations to purchase things they needed to live as well as shop for items they wanted. Some of the scenarios and stations included:
- Housing
- Utilities
- Auto
- Insurance
- Groceries
- Childcare
- Retail
- Just for fun
- Part-time jobs
- Banking: Checking account, savings, 401(k), 12-month CD, Mutual Funds, and Credit
South Harrison student Piper Dotson told 12 News that she rolled a telemarketer job, was single and had no children. Her job did not provide insurance, she committed no crimes and had a credit score of 691. So while she had no children and did not need to pay for childcare, she did have to pay for insurance.
Other students who had children were shocked that it cost so much. When talking about what she learned, Dotson said she had to question whether or not the prices were real. She said that even though it was shocking, she feels more prepared now.
While this program is currently in a pilot phase, Harrison County’s Liason Specialist for Career & Technical Education Programs Dr. Geraldine Beckett said that she hopes to be able to bring it to more high schools next year.
“These kinds of things make it real for them, you know? They hear what their parents talk about and now it’s going to mean more to them. They’ll make better connections and hopefully better decisions in the future,” she said.
Dr. Beckett would like to thank all volunteers and individuals who helped in making Tuesday possible for all of the participating students at South Harrison High School.
