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Monticello High
School Academy of Finance Program Back
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Academy of Finance Program -
Class of 2008 |
The Monticello High School Academy of Finance is a two-year
program that students apply to at the end of
tenth grade. Students are selected through an application process: Teacher and guidance counselor recommendations are required. Grades, attendance and discipline records will be checked.
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Academy of Finance Program -
Class of 2009 |
This program is a member program of the National Academy Foundation which was founded in New York City by a partnership of schools and the financial services business. There are approximately 300 Academy programs in the United States.
Our Academy works with local
businesses, and both education and government leaders, to design and offer financial education opportunities for Monticello High School students.
To learn more about the Academy
of Finance, e-mail Advisor Wendy Levinson at
wlevinson@k12mcsd.net
or visit the National Academy Foundation (NAF) website at www.naf.org.
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AOF students volunteer for a good
cause
Some students from the Monticello
High School Academy of Finance (AOF) did a great job
volunteering at the recent Dispute
Resolution Center (DRC) fundraiser. They assisted in coat
checking, greeting, and parking. DRC officials were very pleased
with their professionalism and very appreciative of their help.
This is part of the on-going effort of the school district to
strengthen ties with its community.
For more information about the DRC,
click here.
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New Tax Preparation
Service Offered by the AOF
For
the first time ever, Monticello High School Academy of Finance (AOF)
students have opened a real-life tax office to
 help friends,
relatives and community members with their taxes – for free!
Anyone with a gross income of $40,000 or less is welcome to call
AOF Director Wendy Levinson at 794-8840, ext. 10848 to make an
appointment. The service will be open from 2:15-4:30 p.m. during
March and April. Individuals need to
bring all of their tax forms and documents and their social
security card. The service is overseen by accounting teacher
Susan Bahrenburg who is a CPA, and math teacher Eric Shewmaker,
both of whom are IRS tax preparer certified.
This year, the IRS estimates an additional 23.5 million
taxpayers will need to file tax returns for the sole purpose of
receiving the government stimulus package rebate.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program was
formulated after Levinson and Bahrenburg became aware of its success at other AOF
schools while attending a National Academy Foundation Conference
in July 2007. They then met with IRS representatives who
assisted them in implementing the program.
The main goal of VITA is to have students prepare accurate tax
returns for other students and for low to moderate income adults
at no cost. As part of the learning process, students in
Levinson's Business Communications class are required to develop marketing
materials and the necessary communications to inform the school and
community of the service and their hours of operation.
Click here
for the full story.
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Community businesses are helping prepare our high school
students for the real working world
On Thursday, October 18, Monticello High School’s Academy of
Finance had their annual Networking Breakfast and Advisory
 Board
meeting in the high school library. The event was attended by
more than 60 junior and senior AOF student representatives and
20 AOF Board members and special guests, including
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Michel. The Academy’s
Advisory Board is made up of local entrepreneurs, community
members and business people.
The networking session provided a
chance for students and adults to mingle and chat and to get to
know each other while noshing on breakfast treats. It was also
an opportunity for students to meet potential internship
providers, as part of the Academy’s requirement includes a
summer-long internship working at a local business. Students
clad in suits, ties and professional business attire got the
real-world experience of shaking hands, introducing themselves,
and confidently portraying their skills and interests to
professionals in a variety of fields.
After the networking segment, the
Board meeting commenced with AOF President Jessica Simpson and
vice president, Aaron Levine, explaining future endeavors of the
Academy. AOF seniors introduced themselves and talked about
their interesting experiences during their summer internships.
Board members then explained their businesses, their backgrounds
and their pathways to success. They answered questions from the
audience and discussed current issues that are relevant in
today’s business and financial markets.
AOF Advisory Board members have
been very supportive to students since the Academy began in 1999
by generously giving their time, effort, and guidance. Members
have had a positive influence on students and have helped them
ignite interest in their future endeavors, while demonstrating
the value of being philanthropic and socially responsible. Many
of the AOF Board members also donate money to the program,
provide students with paid summer internships, and supply the
youths with successful role models from the local business
community.
Academy
of Finance 2007-2008 Advisory Board members:
Jacob Billig - Monticello Central Schools
Board of Education; Joel Blum - Smith Barney; Carl Casella -
Primerica Financial
Services; Jonathan Farrow - community member; Lori
Rubenstein-Fleck - RubyFlecks Creative Consulting, Susan Horton
- Sullivan County Community College, Cindy Kashan - Sullivan
County Community College, Jacquie Leventoff - Kohl’s
Distribution Center; Diane Levine - Catskill Brokers; Zane
Morganstein - Associated Mutual Insurance Cooperative; Pamela
Rourke - BOCES Adult Education; Richard Rowley - Rowley Building
Products; Joyce Salimeno - Gersten-Hillman Insurance Agency;
Christopher Schmidt - Schmidt’s Wholesale, Inc.; Richard Sush -
community member; Mona Tugender - County Fountain Supplies;
Michael Wapnick - Ike’s Auto Parts
Photo 1: Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Michel,
center, sits with the Academy of Finance Advisory Board at the
recent networking breakfast. A panel of 12 community members and
business people were on-hand to answer questions and discuss
relevant issues with the high school students who are enrolled
in the academy.
Photo 2: High school juniors and seniors in the Academy of
Finance were totally engaged by the relevance of the Advisory
Board discussions during the morning event.
Photo 3: From left, AOF Advisory Board Chairwoman and Gersten-Hillman
Insurance Agency owner Joyce Salimeno, high school senior Carly
Bulaga, and AOF Director Wendy Levinson. Salimeno has been
active with the Academy since it began in 1999.
Academy of Finance student
Phylicia Bediako contributed to this story.
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Academy of Finance alumnus
gives back to Monticello
At Monticello High School, teacher and Academy of Finance
founder/director Wendy Levenson and her former student, Joel
Blum, have come full circle together.
Blum, Class of 2000, was in Levenson's first Academy of Finance.
Recently, he presented Levenson with a grant of $3,000 on behalf
of his employer, Citi Smith Barney, where he is a financial
adviser and guided portfolio manager.
The Academy of Finance is a symbiotic relationship among
schools, students and corporate America.
Business owners offer internships and donations and serve as
guest speakers and role models. In exchange, they get more
skilled interns, and a higher caliber of job applicants when AOF
students graduate from college.
Monticello students with an interest in business and finance get
consistent exposure to specialized business knowledge and best
practices, access to college level courses and value-added items
for their college and job resumes.
The schools get donations, like the one Blum presented, toward
the cost of tuition for college-level finance courses that
students can take while still in high school. The school also
gets a renewable resource of AOF graduates, like Blum, who keep
the cycle going.
"We couldn't have applied for this grant without a Citi group
employee," Levinson said.
The businesses, schools and students also get bragging rights;
nationwide, AOF participants are eight times more likely to have
paid summer internships and twice as likely to take college
level courses while in high school; 92 percent graduate and 80
percent go on to college, according to Blum.
- Story and photo by
Melissa Rennie, reprinted courtesy of the Times Herald-Record May
09, 2007 -
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Students gaining
real-life business savvy in Monticello High School's Academy of
Finance
The world of
business is changing and experts agree that schools need to
begin reshaping their structure and
curriculum to
 keep
up with the human resource needs of the new global economy.
Monticello High School’s Academy of Finance (AOF) is making sure
its graduates are ready to step into the 21st Century workplace.
The
program began in 1999 as the brainchild of AOF director and
teacher Wendy Levinson, and past school Principal William
Stickney. Stickney’s prior experience with small learning
communities, combined with Levinson’s business expertise, help
build the AOF as a way to expose students to the world of
business and finance while still in high school.
With the help of teachers Nancy Swaine, Susan Bahrenburg and
Peter Weinman, the academy offers courses in
accounting, business law, international business, economics,
financial decision making and entrepreneurship.
Academy of Finance alumnus gives
back to Monticello
1 of 1 Monticello High School teacher and Academy of Finance
director Wendy Levenson accepts a check for $3,000 from her
former student, Joel Blum. Blum, Class of 2000, was in
Levenson's first Academy of Finance. Now a financial adviser and
guided portfolio manager of Citi Smith Barney, he made the
presentation on behalf of his employer.Photo provided By Melissa
Rennie
It also requires that students work during the summer between
11th and 12th grades. Students have to write a professional
resume and be interviewed by their chosen internship site, which
is picked by Levinson using each student’s strengths. This part
of the program has created strong ties with local businesses who
want to help students understand and experience a real work
environment.
Full story
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