Middle school students at Savannah River Academy are several weeks into a year-long economy program designed to educate them on employment, taxes and fiscal responsibility.
The program was integrated into SRA’s curriculum to help boost its profile for International Baccalaureate candidacy, but Head of School Maribeth Burns said the teachers have taken the program and ran with it.
“Our middle school teachers took it upon themselves and have done the most amazing work,” Burns said. “The design is so intricate. The program has been meaningful and rich. This is much more than lip service; it’s woven into the middle school experience.”
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Students had to craft their own resumes and cover letters to apply for jobs within the school, like librarian, carpool helper, journalist and shopkeeper.
The students then earn SRA Bucks they can use in the shop to purchase school supplies, out-of-uniform days and no-homework coupons. However, the latter two are more expensive, driving the students to take opportunity cost into account.
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Rent and utilities also come out of the students’ wages to the tune of 40%. Going into debt will find the students having to take on a second “job,” all of which take place throughout the school day.
Lilitha Kavuri, social studies teacher, said the program was born out of a study on ancient civilizations.
“The idea stemmed from how the ancient civilizations we’re studying developed their own economic systems. From trading to division of labor and on,” she said. “We decided as a team to have a civilization in our middle school.”
Students had to interview with four middle school teachers when applying for the various jobs within the system. Teachers then assigned students to jobs they felt the students would excel in. However, jobs will be rotated around about every two months.
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Jada Todd, middle school math teacher, said her first lesson detailed the different expenditures that come up in real life, like fixed, variable, rent and utilities.
“They have to do their percentages and tell me how much they owe at the end of the month,” Todd said. “They have to think, ‘Well, if I buy this bag of candy, I can’t afford a no-homework pass.'”
Kavuri said the teachers also developed a tax system and taught students how to earn bonuses by exceeding expectations at “work.”
“They’re still learning how to manage their jobs and learning financial literacy but they keep track with their own ledgers,” Kavuri said.
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SRA was created specifically to be different, according to their website. It is a non-sectarian, fully-accredited private school offering both full-time enrollment as well as a hybrid enrollment option to parents of homeschoolers who are looking for only core class enrollment.
SRA only goes to eighth grade, so setting the students up for future success is a crucial goal, Burns said.
“We are officially an IB candidate school, and that is a two-year process until we are fully certified,” she said. “IB emphasizes inter-curricular learning, so this is a way of linking different subjects together into one project.”
Kavuri echoed her, saying, “IB also emphasizes authenticity, where learning is not just within the classroom of the pages of a book, but the application to real world situations.”
Burns said the IB framework fits with the philosophy of the school: project-based learning that is focused on problem-solving and communication.
“IB also has the most rigorous accreditation process and that gives parents the peace of mind that their children are being educated with high standards of learning.”
Students and parents have loved the program, according to the teachers.
“We wanted to take it from the classroom into the real world and the parents have really appreciated how their students’ accountability has improved,” Kavuri said.
Todd agreed, saying, “They have chosen to do a job and take pride in their job. Kids that used to be on the later side are now arriving early and getting their jobs done.”
Burns said everyday conversations from the kids and the parents have been encouraging.
“Middle school is such a time of transition, so seeing our students motivated to be here and to work hard and care about something other than themselves is a big win,” Burns said. “I think this program does that.”
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
