Finance

In life and in any job, understanding money is a necessity. These programs are developed to help students navigate the world of finance and create an interest in finance as an industry itself. Those intrigued by finance can take the more challenging and career-related courses.

Personal Finance

This course helps students understand the financial activities they will likely encounter in life after high school. Course topics include the purpose of credit, saving and investing (stocks, mutual funds, bonds, real estate), the time value of money, loans (car, mortgage), renting vs. owning, financing college, income taxes, identity theft, insurance, career exploration and stock market portfolio simulation. Through multiple projects, students make connections between life and finance, with an emphasis on decision-making. In addition, students develop an appreciation for types of financial service providers and financial markets. Students will have an opportunity to compete in DECA (not required) with the preparation they receive in this course.

Building Wealth

This course focuses on direct investment in the stock market along with a more detailed discussion of investment opportunities such as real estate and bonds. Students will come away from the course with enough basic investment knowledge to understand the need for investments, the value of investing regularly and for the long run, and the importance of beginning to invest now. Other course topics include the concepts of accounting and finance in corporate setting, budgets, cost-benefit analysis, fundamental stock analysis, careers in finance exploration, and a stock market portfolio simulation. Students will have an opportunity to compete in DECA (not required) with the preparation they receive in this course.

Accounting 

This course is recommended for college-bound students who might consider the business field as a major and students who will be entering the workforce upon graduation. This course introduces the student to finance and accounting principles that are applied to accounting records kept for businesses in the private enterprise economy of the United States. An emphasis on high-level financial analysis, accounting principles, wealth creation strategies, and market variables will be explored.