Due to Covid, students were required to take the test at their homes. Parents assisted with proctoring the test while Mrs. Dawn Friedrich proctored from the online class for Personal Finance. Pictured are: (top, l - r) Ainsley Nelson, Ann Woockman, Derek

Wausa Public Schools is ranked in Top 100 U.S. schools teaching personal finance

WAUSA — Wausa Public Schools has earned a spot on the “100 Best w!se High Schools Teaching Personal Finance” national ranking released by Working in Support of Education (w!se), a NYC-based educational not-for-profit focused on promoting student financial literacy nationwide, and sponsored by Voya Financial®. This means that students at Wausa Public Schools performed among the highest in the entire country on the w!se standardized Financial Literacy Certification Test. The students who earned this award are the Personal Finance seniors from the Class of 2020—Ainsley Nelson, Isabelle Vanness, Shelby Timmerman, Ann Woockman, Jailynn Story, Taylor Kumm, Derek Gillilan, Dawson Thorell, Kaitlyn Kumm, Will Hagge, Esther Nelson, McKayla Hoppe, Hannah Hubers, and Melanie Vanness.

The Award Ceremony was hosted virtually on Thursday, April 22. Wausa received 7th place in the nation in the small schools category and 10th place overall (which included small, medium, and large schools). The school will be receiving a banner that will be displayed in the school.

Dawn Friedrich’s Personal Finance class has been participating in the w!se progrom since 2011. This class is offered primarily for seniors. Even though it is not a required course, most seniors enroll. By incorporating this award-winning program, our students have been empowered to take control of their future and ensure that they are able to achieve financial well-being.

Finding ways to address the chronic lack of financial literacy among our young people is of the utmost importance for us. Helping students understand risks and how to make good financial decisions regarding their finances are critical life skills. We also hope that these skills have a positive long-term effect by assisting young people in making healthy financial choices today that will ultimately help close the U.S. retirement savings gap in the future.

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