March 9, 2023 By Carol Britton Meyer
Two Hingham High School teachers are excited about their plans to bring back the Credit for Life Fair just prior to graduation on May 18 to help students prepare for a bright future.
“The fair is a simulation event for our senior class where students learn about personal finance, financial decision-making, and budgeting,” Business Teacher Joe Tarantello — who is organizing the fair with World Language Teacher Stacey Turner — told the Hingham Anchor. “Students choose a career, receive a salary, and then are called upon to make decisions about various life items (apartment, food, transportation, clothing, etc.) while maintaining a balance of their needs and wants.”
In planning for the fair — which will take place from 7:45 to 10:00 a.m. –Tarantello and Turner welcome the participation of staff, parents, and other members of the community as volunteers to help the event run smoothly.
This annual fair started in 2017 but was put on hold due to the pandemic. “We are looking forward to its return and want to ensure it remains a yearly event,” Tarantello said.
The fair provides an opportunity for students to learn various life skills as part of an interactive experience that leads them through a series of real-world scenarios — including paying for college, getting a job, interviewing, applying for a loan, and determining living and transportation expenses, among others.
With the goal of learning to live within their budget, students — after choosing their professions and being assigned monthly take-home salaries — navigate various checkpoints to make “purchases” utilizing imaginary cash, credit, or savings to help them learn to make sound financial decisions as young adults in real life. “Students will also have the opportunity to speak to professionals from various fields to help guide their financial decisions,” according to Tarantello.
“What really makes this a successful event is the participation of community members. We are looking for volunteers with a wide range of different backgrounds to run the booths from which students will make their decisions,” Tarantello said. “For example, someone that might work at a car dealership to run our transportation booth or a real estate agent to help students at the housing booth.”
All volunteers will receive a brief period of training prior to the start of the event so that they feel comfortable assisting students as they move through the experience. “The Credit For Life Fair is a great opportunity for community members to offer their expertise and to help students learn the importance of sound financial decision-making,” he said.
The fair is a “great opportunity for students to learn how to realistically budget, save money, and understand the impact of spending decisions, all while learning skills to act in a financially responsible way,” Tarantello said. “It’s a unique experience to prepare our senior class for life beyond Hingham High School. The vision for this event has always been to not only provide personal financial education to our students, but to also really make it a community event.”
Those interested in participating are asked to complete the registration form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzg8zZ-tyXjCoXuZyuDvbueyYL9Zsw39oG0t8kMOJaDxB4fg/viewform, or to reach out to Tarantello (jtarantello@hinghamschools.org or Turner (sturner@hinghamschools.org) at HHS to register or ask questions. A response by Friday, April 7, is requested to allow plenty of time for planning the fair.
“We hope that the community will help support us in bringing this wonderful event back and to make it better than ever!” Tarantello said.
I am so pleased that Hingham is recognizing the value of business education. It is a difference maker after graduation no matter the career choice.