Grant High receives $25,500 grant from Discover Financial

Freshmen at Grant High School in Fox Lake will learn more about their money through a $25,500 grant targeted for financial education.

The school in recent weeks received the funds through a five-year, $10 million program offered by Discover Financial Services to cover the costs of implementing coursework into high school classrooms.

"We've earmarked (the grant) for tools that will increase our level of financial literacy for the students," said Nathan Miller, a divisional administrator who oversees the business department.

The money was targeted for: an iPad cart, 30 iPads and peripheral equipment; teacher training on the devices; and applications to help students "walk the walk" of financial education, Miller said.

The school learned of the grants through the networking of teacher Tracy Highley.

"When we teach children about making wise financial decisions, we provide them a foundation of information and skills necessary to make such choices," Highley said.

To measure the level of success, the grant comes with the condition that students must be tested on the curriculum before and after the grant funds were used, officials said.

Financial education is included in a class called Com Con, which is a graduation requirement. That course, now in its third full year, merged computer applications in the business department with consumer economics, Miller said. While the salaries of athletes make the news, he said, students need reinforcement regarding real-life issues involving spending and saving.

The applications will present students with simulated situations, such as deciding how best to allocate funds with the rent or car payment due, for example. Miller said the new wireless equipment will provide teachers with more creative freedom, allow for better small group interaction and other benefits. About 480 freshman are enrolled in Com Con this year, he said.

"Even though there was paperwork and an application process, you could earmark (the grant) toward almost anything involving financial literacy," he said. "We decided using technology to augment our instruction was a good use."

Since 2012, Discover has awarded more than $1.6 million in financial education grants to public high schools in Illinois, including a $1 million grant to Chicago Public Schools and $8 million nationally.

According to the company, statistics show a majority of Americans lack the knowledge to make good financial decisions.