Karol Osborne

High school students at Green Oaks Performing Arts Academy in Shreveport are learning how to negotiate some important life lessons as part of a unique LSU AgCenter outreach program that examines career choices and decision-making from an adult perspective.

Living Your Financial Experience, or LYFE, is designed to help young people prepare for the real-world experiences they may encounter as they enter adulthood.

“I wanted students to get a glimpse of the real world outside of school because a lot of them are going into college or straight to work from high school,” AgCenter extension agent Jessica Sherrill said.

The school-based outreach at Green Oaks is part of a $600,000 Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A portion of the program focuses on career preparation and strengthening leadership and communication skills among middle and high school students.

During the eight-week school enrichment program offered during the spring of 2019, students learned about setting priorities based on basic needs versus wants and practiced budgeting for expenses such as home mortgages or rent, utilities and telecommunications, auto loans, maintenance and insurance, as well as groceries, clothing and entertainment.

For the program finale, the youth participated in a real-life simulation. Each student received a randomly selected scenario where they have to make some tough decisions that could affect not only themselves, but other members of their make-believe families.

Green Oaks senior Chelsea Calup wasn’t happy with her scenario at first, even though she was lucky and drew one of the higher paying jobs.

“But I have three children and only $4,000, and I have to get a house that’s already $2,000 a month just for a place to live – that’s not enough,” Calup said.

After careful planning and budgeting for her monthly needs, Calup managed to come out ahead.

“It wasn’t that hard to live – I just couldn’t get all of the extra things that I want or would normally get if it was just me,” she said. “Once I took care of my monthly expenses, I had $330 left, so if the kids wanted something a little extra, I could get them that.”

Calup said she has two jobs in real life and plans to start saving now for college in the fall.

“It showed me more about how life really works,” she said.

Green Oaks English teacher John Gray said he wished he had participated in a similar program when he was in school.

“They are getting a good idea of what ‘adulting’ really is,” Gray said.

Gray said that students first think they are rich when they see their salaries in their pretend jobs, but then they see how quickly that all goes away.

Each student begins the simulation by carefully reviewing their situations before rotating through various stations to purchase items or services they will need to set up their mock households.

“I had to get a second job because with my first job I had to use all my money just going around the tables,” said senior Khyre Poole.

“This makes me want to save more money and showed me how to use my money wisely,” Poole said.

Dawn Burns, an Allstate agent volunteer who helped students make choices about car purchases and auto insurance, said she was impressed with the questions and decisions coming from the students.

“They want a sports car at first, but they see how much it costs and realize that they will not be able to afford that, so they make their second choice, which is the smart choice,” Burns said.

Sherrill said she was a little surprised that many students shopped first for groceries and clothing instead of buying the car or trying to get something that they wanted.

“One of my students told me that you have to learn to limit your wants because you have to take care of your needs first,” she said. “I was ecstatic because that was one of our very first lessons.”

The program helps students put into perspective many of the life choices they see their parents make every day, she said.

“I learned how to manage money, because I didn’t think about insurance and retirement, and how much you have to spend on groceries,” senior Terkqoise Givens said.

AgCenter agriculture and natural resource agent John Terrell supervised the last stop for most of the students, a Monopoly game Community Chest-type situation that could bring elation or despair with every card.

“They get really excited because they get a birthday card with $100 in it, or they will be totally distraught because they drew the card that says they broke their leg and owe a $400 copay,” Terrell said.

Senior Kevin Wilson drew a $1,500 bonus from his job and could not have been happier. “I’m doing the smart choice and saving my money for my kids and family needs,” he said.

Chaz Crawford wasn’t so lucky. “Don’t lose your cellphone. I lost $800 and I’m in the negatives so I had to take a second job,” he said.

The CYFAR grant project began in 2014 and was initially centered on weekly after school programming, summer camps, family nights and special events offered at three Shreveport Parks and Recreation sites. The program model shifted in 2016 to include the school-based enrichment program at Green Oaks.

Green Oaks principal Steven Grant said the programs have exposed students to things they would normally not be engaged in and opens a window for what they can become.

AgCenter experts have worked with classroom teachers at the school to provide instruction and equipment to support robotics and STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education, biology laboratory lessons and physical education classes in addition to the LYFE curriculum for middle and high school students.

“Our goal at Green Oaks has been to provide support programming and resources for school enrichment in areas of nutrition and health, science and technology and career exploration to enhance student learning experiences,” AgCenter Caddo Parish 4-H agent Katherine Pace said.

“We also planned a series of field trips during the summer to integrate our spring classroom activities with hands on application in the real-world of work and college,” Sherrill said.

After completing the LYFE program last spring, Green Oaks middle-school students visited several college campuses and toured local cultural and entertainment venues including the Shreveport Multicultural Center and Strand Theater to explore job and career options.

Karol Osborne is a writer with LSU AgCenter Communications.

(This article appears in the summer 2019 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.)

Faced with making adult decisions, high school students at Green Oaks Performing Arts Academy in Shreveport found budgeting for necessities like food, housing, transportation and insurance to be a challenge that takes practice. The students took part in a real-life simulation as part of an eight-week educational program sponsored by the LSU AgCenter. Volunteers Carlee Zamora (back left) and Jackie Field (back right) assist two students in selecting the best grocery options. Photo by Karol Osborne